The Lost Path
by Hilseo
Summary: Sequel to The Lost Star. One thousand years after Nightmare Moon, Twilight seeks to reunite the long lost sisters. But what if Staria does not want to be found? What has she been up to these past centuries? In which Twilight is in a for a rude awakening -and a lesson or two about not judging without knowing...
1. I Will find her

Hey there!

The first chapter, at last. The length will be about the same for every chapter.

Italics in the beginning retrace Staria's life right after Nightmare Moon.

I own nothing but Staria and the plot.

Enjoy!

XxxX

 _Emptiness._

 _Perhaps it was better than the harsh coldness of despair, the cruel claws of helplessness. Perhaps it was better to feel nothing than feel too much._

 _Pain._

 _No. Don't go there. Don't go where it hurts, don't go back to what shattered you in the first place. It does not matter anymore._

 _Anger._

 _It is there, isn't it? Beneath the pain and the harsh despair, beneath the mask you've learned to bear. Angry, furious even, except you're not ready to face your own wrath._

 _They are responsible, aren't they? For the way you feel. For the way you felt. For everything._

 _You can't deny it._

 _And yet, still you try. You find comfort in believing it was all your fault, that no one else could have changed anything. Still you believe leaving was the best option._

 _Coward, is what you think._

 _Is it cowardly to leave what hurts you the most behind? Is it selfish to prefer your own life above hers? Is it wrong to seek happiness elsewhere—_

 _When you can't find it when you're home?_

 _Home._

 _Was it really your home? When was it twisted into this parody of happiness, this meaningless duty you never asked for –this emptiness you could never fill? You did not ask for it. You did not deserve this._

 _Is it wrong to leave it all behind?_

 _Is it wrong to abandon your family when they need you the most?_

 _What about you? Should you stay for her, to rebuild her strength, when it's destroying yours?_

 _Can you sacrifice yourself for her?_

 _Should you? Should you?_

 _No._

 _You have the right to break. You have the right to live._

 _It's your choice, not hers._

 _You don't have to deal with her mistakes, only yours._

 _She needs to learn, and so do you._

 _Learn the true weight of the crown. Learn what it means._

 _She can't learn if you're here to lighten the burden._

 _You can't learn if she's here to bear it for you._

 _And the wounds will never heal if you stay._

 _For the both of you._

 _We made our mistakes. Now it's time to bear their consequences._

 _Now it's time to heal._

 _"_ _Forgive me, sister…"_

 _But I can't heal by your side._

 _Unreadable eyes, not really seeing anything._

 _She knows what to do, for the first time in years maybe._

 _She would not go back._

 _Only broken feathers and crystal tears are left in her wake._

XxxX

"M' not sure 'bout that, sugarcube. Princess Celestia did say she'd come back on her own…"

"You didn't see her eyes, Applejack. She looked so sad…And princess Staria's been gone for a thousand years! It would be better for everypony if we could find her and take her back to Canterlott."

There hadn't been a single trace of a princess Staria in Twilight's castle's library. The alicorn had opened every single book she had ever owned, but they all said the same thing: there had been two alicorns, two sisters, not three. And there was never any mention of the stars anywhere.

Thus, she'd dragged all of her friends into the Canterlott library. While Pinkie Pie and Rarity were interrogating the princesses, the other four were trying their luck in the palace. And so far, they had found nothing.

"Come on, it happened a _thousand years_ ago! How the hell do you want us to find anything?" Dash finally exploded. "And she has wings! When a Pegasus wants to leave, nopony can actually track her down!"

"But there has to be traces of her presence, right?" Fluttershy asked, putting a book back on its shelf. "I mean, an alicorn isn't exactly the most discreet kind of pony…"

"Celestia would have known if she had been seen," Twilight shook her head. "But she just vanished in the middle of the night." She closed one book to open another. She did not look up, and the other three eyed her worriedly. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, and a few minutes later both Rarity and Pinkie Pie entered the library. Twilight was upon them in under a second.

"Did you find anything? What do they remember?"

"Nothing, darling," Rarity said, exchanging a look with the others. "Princess Staria was last seen the night after Nightmare Moon, raising the stars. She disappeared in the middle of the night, and nopony saw her afterwards. Celestia asked every guard, but none had seen her."

Twilight sighed.

"We just have to keep searching, then."

She immediately darted over to yet another book and proceeded to bury her head in the pages. However, the others did not move from their places, and Twilight eventually raised her head when she noticed the odd silence.

"Girls?"

"Who tells her?" Dash asked, crossing her hooves. Applejack sighed.

"Twilight, if we havn't found anything…"

"Then there is probably nothing," Rarity finished. "I know you really want to find her, sweetie, but I don't believe something as old as a thousand years has left any trace in a book, of all things."

"Nopony's seen a thing. Why'd they write a book 'bout nothing?"

"Oh, oh! I know, I know! Maybe because they couldn't say anything? Or they had nothing to write!" Pinkie sang, jumping up and down. Rarity blinked, Rainbow Dash sweatdropped and Twilight stood up.

"I won't give up. Both Celestia and Luna want her back. We can't give up!"

"But there is absolutely nothing!" Rainbow Dash argued. "Zero, nada, nothing!"

Twilight only resumed wandering the library, picking books up left and right, looking agitated. The others gathered around the door.

"Perhaps we could go to sleep and try again tomorrow," Fluttershy intervened. "We're all extremely tired."

"She's right, ya know," Applejack agreed. "We should-"

"Go to sleep if you want, but I'll keep searching." Twilight answered determinedly. "Goodnight."

"Twili-"

"Goodnight."

The door slammed shut behind her, and they all stared at it for a while, wondering what they should do. Whenever it came to finding something, Twilight had always been extremely stubborn and determined to find it, but this time, it wasn't just uncommon or unheard of; it was old. Very old. There was no telling if they'd find anything, if there was anything at all. From what they'd understood, Princess Staria had appeared in public even less than Princess Luna, to the point that while most ponies knew they had three rulers, less than half had actually known her name. Sad, but it was years ago. How could they hope to find anything, if even Celestia back then, had been unable to?

"Let's leave her be." Rarity eventually said. "She'll feel better in the morning."

None knew that for certain, of course. But there was nothing else to do, and they all knew it. One by one, they deserted the hallway to return to the rooms Celestia had offered them in the palace. Inside the library, Twilight kept searching and searching, desperate to find something, anything.

Any clue as to princess Staria's whereabouts.

There had to be something.

Regardless of the thousand years that could have erased anything left to begin with.

XxxX

"I found it!"

Of course, trust Twilight to defy the odds and find just what should have been impossible to find.

"Girls! I found it! Come on! I know where Princess Staria is!"

While Pinkie was already awake and Rainbow kept sleeping, Fluttershy jerked awake and flew to the roof, trembling. Applejack slowly blinked awake.

"Slow down, sugarcube!" She yawned sleepily. "Ye say ye foun' her? How?"

"Come on, join me in the library and I'll show you! Hurry up!"

She disappeared in a flash, and Rarity sighed.

"So much for my beauty sleep," she whined. "Well, we should do as she said."

It wasn't long before they found themselves in the library, though they were surprised to see that both princess Luna and princess Celestia were there, too, though neither looked quite awake yet.

"Did you find her, Twilight? Do you know where our sister is?" Luna didn't look awake, but her voice alone certainly conveyed her impatience and desire to find her. Twilight looked torn for a moment.

"I don't know for sure where she is, but I have a pretty good idea."

"How did you even find her, Twilight?"

The young alicorn did not answer, getting a rather recent-looking book from the top of a nearby pile. Around it, a lot of history books, older looking, rested. Twilight excitedly opened her book and faced the other.

"My mistake was to try to find somepony who had seen her, or reported her during the time she disappeared. Except, I couldn't find any trace of her anywhere; nopony ever mentioned another alicorn."

"Because she hid herself," Luna explained. "She ran away from the palace -I am fairly sure she wouldn't have wanted to be recognised."

"Exactly," Twilight smiled. "So as soon as I understood that, I started looking for something else -princess Celestia, you told me she was depressed after that night, right?"

"She barely left her room, and she was extremely pale," Celestia confirmed. "But what does this have to do with what you found?"

"I'm coming to it. So basically, instead of looking for an alicorn, I looked for a depressed mare, and the time of her disappearance coincides with the appearance of legends of all sorts."

"Legends?" Rainbow dash hovered above her, trying to get a look behind the book's cover, which Twilight stubbornly kept out of reach. "Am I the only one who's absolutely not following?"

Twilight did not reply, opting instead to turn the pages from her books until she landed on a peculiar page, though she did not show which to the others.

"These legends all tell of a lone mare who wandered the villages for a while. Some speak of a ghost, other of a demon -but they all have one thing in common," She finished with a satisfied smile, and finally turned the book towards them.

Etched on the two pages, they could see a picture of a ghost mare, standing in front of a lake, and surrounded by other, smaller ghosts. And the pony herself…

Celestia took a sharp breath.

"Heavens…these colours…"

"It's hers…Do you really think…?"

"The legends all say she had a blue coat and a black mane, and a peculiar attachment to the night." Twilight nodded. "If we retrace the different times and origins of these legends, we can notice they start around the night of Nightmare Moon, and then spread in a rather big area from the Old Castle. I don't think it is a mere coincidence."

"So if we fin' from where the first legend comes from, we fin' the Princess?"

"Not exactly. We'll need to retrace her steps from there, but I believe we'll eventually find her."

The others started whispering among themselves, and Twilight only smiled.

"Twilight…where does it start?"

Celestia and Luna stared at her without blinking. It was hard to see what they were thinking; Celestia had said before that she believed her sister would come back on her own. Was she really happy she had found her sister? Her eyes were unreadable. Twilight faltered for a moment; was it right? What if princess Staria actually did not want to come back? What right did she have to upset the balance Celestia and Luna had worked so hard to find?

"Just say it, Twilight," Luna said calmly. "I personally want to know where she's been all this time."

Twilight swallowed.

"Right outside of Everfree Forest…it's the first place the legend appeared."

XxxX

Review~~


	2. The Journey Starts

The Lost Path

Second chapter~

One precision: the timeline of this story is somewhere after Twilight became an alicorn (obviously) and before [SPOILER SEASON 8] they bring back Starswirl and the others.

Thank you for all the favourites and reviews already, I didn't expect such a positive answer to chapter 1. Hope I won't disappoint~

XxxX

 _She travels until dawn._

 _And when dawn comes, still she flies further away. She does not really know what she is looking for. She just needs to get away from the palace, from her title, from her duties. It is for the best._

 _She isn't cut out to be a princess._

 _She can almost hear Celestia's cry when, at twilight, the stars do not rise. The night remains cold and dull, only lighted by a moon who now inspires fear and despair in the ponies' hearts. She cries and begs, but the stars remain hidden far below the horizon, where they will never be seen._

 _Staria will never raise them again._

 _Even when ice starts to crystallize on her wings, even when exhaustion and soreness set in, she does not stop. She can't feel anything anymore. The rain slowly starts to fall on her until it is pouring over her head, drowning the earth below, but she barely notices. She starts shivering and her flight becomes erratic, but she wants to get the furthest away from the Castle. She is not far enough. She will never be far enough._

 _And when at long last her wings give in and she falls, she isn't afraid. A part of her wonders if her sisters will ever know of her unfortunate demise –if the ponies will ever laugh at knowing she'd died of exhaustion, because she'd been too out of it to stop and rest. She cannot bring herself to care._

 _Trees and branches break her fall and she lands on the grass below, many bruises already forming on her dull, dark blue wings and legs, though thankfully she does not break any bone. She lies there, unmoving, letting the rain wash away her pain, her sorrow, her anger, until nothing remains. She hopes she could disappear right there, alone, if only she could be free of feeling. She would become nothing but a passing memory, quickly forgotten –and it would be for the best. She has no use, after all. She could not protect her own sisters, could not even protect herself. She does not deserve any of the honour she'd been gifted. Let somepony else take it all. She could not bear it._

 _She does not want to anymore._

 _She spends the whole night sleeping fitfully in the open, drenched and exhausted._

 _Alone as she has always been._

XxxX

"Are you sure it's a good idea, darling?" Rarity asked, concerned. "For all we know it could be just what it is – a legend, and nothing else."

"I know it's not, Rarity." Twilight replied, busy as she was packaging her books and notes. "These legends clearly follow a geographical path -from the old castle to the desert. I'm certain princess Staria is the mare from the legend."

Rainbow Dash scowled from above.

"We already had that conversation like, a thousand times already! Can't we just get going?"

"Just a sec- ha! There it is," Twilight emerged from her books, triumphantly holding a map in her hoof. "Now we're ready."

The mane six exited Twilight's castle, all saddled up and ready to go. The royal sisters had both given their approval of the mission, and Twilight had enthusiastically gathered her friends for this new adventure.

Find Princess Staria, and get her back home.

If they succeeded –and Twilight knew they would, as always- it would mean so much to both Luna and Celestia. They'd finally be reunited, for the first time since a thousand years ago. Even if she had not been extremely curious to see who this alicorn was and what she was like, the undisguised hope in Celestia's eyes would have been enough. She would succeed, for her mentor. It was a promise.

"So where to first, Twilight?"

She took a look at her map. She'd marked the villages they needed to see with a red cross, if only to make sure they followed the legends accordingly.

"Everfree forest."

"Everfree? Can't we take another way than into this horrible forest?" Rarity asked, frowning.

"We can't take the risk of missing any clue," the young alicorn replied. "The farthest we find the legend is the desert, but it is possible she settled down somewhere in the middle of Equestria, and the legends were carried over by travellers."

"So basically," Rainbow said, "She could be anywhere into the area where the legends exist?"

Twilight nodded.

"We'll be like investigators!" Pinkie exclaimed, immediately getting in Fluttershy's face with a detective's hat and coat. "What do you know about Princess Staria's whereabouts?!" The timid Pegasus gulped. Twilight shook her head.

"It won't be as easy, Pinkie. It happened a thousand years ago, so we won't find anypony who has actually seen her. Thus no interrogating."

"Too bad~" the party pony sang, not sounding disappointed in the least.

"Well then, let's go, guys!"

XxxX

"RUN!"

"What the hell did I do to get dragged into this?"

"You're not helping, Dash!"

"At least I did not set a whole pack of Timber wolves upon us!"

"I did not! You woke them with your obnoxious laughing!"

"Say that again!"

"I said-"

"Stop it, both of you! They're getting closer!"

They could hear the growls and the howls of the pack right behind them. Only a few hours into the forest and they were already in trouble; they were used to it, of course, but this was ridiculous.

"We- we've got to leave the forest!" Fluttershy panted. "They won't follow us out of their territory!"

"How much further are we, Twilight? Whoa!" Some sharp teeth snapped at Applejack's hair, cutting off a few strands. A magical blast from Twilight had them backing off a bit, but they were immediately back upon them.

"We have to find the river," She yelled. "Once we do, we follow it to the south, it will lead us out."

"There's a river ahead," Rainbow Dash called out. "And I see the forest's end! It's getting closer!"

"There!" Applejack suddenly called on the left. "Everypony –cross the river!"

In a chorus of splashes and yells, the main six safely jumped straight into the water, swimming hurriedly to the other side. Wet and exhausted, they all safely crumbled to the ground and with many pants and gasps, they noted with much relief that the wolves had not dared following them. With obviously disappointed growls and whines, they slowly retreated into the dark shadows of the forest they had left behind, until nothing of them could be seen through the bushes and the leaves.

"Safe," Twilight panted. "Let's take a break –then we'll get out of the forest."

"We should leave now," Fluttershy whispered quietly. "We'll be safer out of Everfree, and the village isn't much farther from here." She was still trembling from their close encounter, but while a few years ago she'd have crawled under a tree to hide, now she felt brave enough to help her friends and stand strong. For now.

"She's right," Applejack agreed. "Let's leave this forsaken forest."

"Oh? I thought it was rather funny," Pinkie pie chimed. Rarity sighed.

"Only you could find a terrifying forest amusing, darling."

"Then we all agree? We keep going until the village?" Twilight asked.

Nods were her only answer, but it was enough. With Rainbow Dash as their guide above, it wasn't too long before they finally exited the forest –and to their surprise, the small town was situated right on Everfree's outskirts, as though its inhabitants did not fear the danger it could hide. And perhaps they did not.

They cautiously entered the town, earning the curious glances of the ponies as they passed, but except from a few good mornings, nopony actually stopped to question them. They asked one for directions to the townhall, and were soon on their way to meet with the mayor.

"Princess Twilight! It's a great honour to have you among us," the unicorn said, bowing. "Princess Celestia told us you might come to visit, so we took the liberty of arranging rooms for you."

"It is so kind of you," Rarity purred, batting her eyelashes. "You have no idea what terrifying atrocities we faced to come here." The mayor smiled bashfully, obviously captivated by the beauty before him.

"Oh, we do not fear the Everfree forest," he said, having only eyes for the unicorn, and missing how the others suddenly were all ears. "Its inhabitants know not to bother us. Now come; I'll show you your rooms, you must be exhausted."

"Indeed we are." Rainbow Dash elbowed the mare in her side, earning herself a glare. She brushed it off.

"You said the dangers of Everfree know not to bother you?" Twilight enquired, her notebook already out of her bag and pen ready to note. "What did you mean?"

"It is an old legend of this village," the unicorn explained, briefly telling them the village's history as they passed the different buildings. "But it is best told in the darkness of the night. Perhaps I could tell you about it tonight?" His eyes were hopeful, and they he was addressing all of them, he only had eyes for Rarity.

"This would be delightful," she answered, looking around. "My friends and I would love to hear about it."

It seemed he'd won the jackpot.

"Great! Here are your rooms. You can come to the town hall anytime to ask questions. I'll be here by eleven to tell you about the legend of this village, is it okay with you?"

"It is fine," Twilight answered this time. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"It is no trouble, your highness," he bowed once more, and Rainbow Dash coughed something that suspiciously sounded like 'princess' pet' in the background, which caused Applejack to smother a chuckle. He finally departed without noticing anything, and the friends found themselves alone.

"Finally, a bed and a pillow," Rarity sighed, immediately laying on the covers. "It's not silk, but after such a terrible day, I would even lay on cotton."

"Good thing it is cotton, then," Dash laughed. Rarity did not dignify the comment with an answer.

"Well, we've got five hours until we hear about this legend, so until eleven, you're all free to do whatever you want." Twilight said, sitting on her bed and taking a book out of her pack. Applejack and Rainbow Dash decided to see what the town was like, while Pinkie and Fluttershy played investigators. Rarity slept like a baby and Twilight tried to work, but her head was elsewhere.

 _So far, so good. I think the worst is behind us, there shouldn't be anymore danger from now, but why do I feel like we still have a long way to go?_

 _Nothing is actually certain. We may find nothing at all at the end of our journey, and then what? What do I tell Celestia? That her sister is gone and nopony knows a thing? There is another worrying thing, too: the mare of the legends is often depicted as a helpful ghost, but also as a terrible demon. Why? Which one is true? Was she aggressive? Is it why she's called a demon? What if it's not even her, but somepony else? It could also have been deformed by the years, but there is no way for us to know until we go straight to the villages to ask. I guess we'll see what we find tonight, and if it will help us get a direction. Otherwise…I don't know what we'll do._

XxxX

Review~


	3. Ghost of the Past

Third chapter, sorry it's coming up so late in the week-end, it was a busy one.

ctran03931 : First, thank you for the reviews. It feels like nothing will get past your sharp eyes^^

As for Zecora's lesson in the show, here everything is different because Staria is Celestia's sister -and Twilight has a liiiitle hero-worship complex. Wherever Celestia's concerned, Twilight has a tendency to forget everything she's learned so far, something which will happen frequently here. But you'll see~

Thanks for the reviews and enjoy as always~

XxxX

 _She does not die._

 _She's bruised and exhausted, but she does not die._

 _A part of her wants to snort in derision for even thinking she would._

 _What is there in life for me?_

 _What do you want to be?_

 _Happy._

 _Useful._

 _Is too much to ask?_

 _To live a simple life, with its ups and downs, to enjoy the small things and be allowed to cry?_

 _To be a normal pony?_

 _A normal pony…_

 _But you're an alicorn. This was your destiny._

 _I never chose it. I never wanted it. These wings were not a blessing. They were a curse._

 _No, not the wings. But everything that came with them._

 _Duties._

 _Everything I had to give up to rule._

 _I never wanted to rule._

 _Somepony else can rule. It doesn't have to be me._

 _And leave Celestia alone?_

 _Luna will come back, eventually. Perhaps we all failed because there doesn't need to be three rulers. Two is more than enough._

 _More than enough…they don't need me._

 _Maybe somepony does, somewhere. Maybe you just need to find that pony._

 _Yes. Happiness awaits…but these wings will betray me._

 _It will not change who you are._

 _I know._

 _You will only exchange a mask for another._

 _No. I am returning to who I used to be. Before the crown. Before the duties. Before everything…_

 _There is no turning back from this. You may never be the same._

 _I know._

 _You know…so do I. Go ahead, then. You know the spell. You know the consequences._

 _A powerful flash of white, and a crippling pain. The secret is hidden away deep in her heart, where no one will ever know._

 _Where no one will ever reach._

 _Because she will never allow anypony else to._

 _A unicorn stands up where a princess once stood._

 _It is time for a new beginning._

XxxX

"What do you mean, a unicorn?"

The mane six had gathered in the room, sitting on their respective beds. The mayor faces them with a solemn look, a book opened in his hooves. Outside, the night has fallen and the stars gently illuminates the street below, so they aren't in the dark. But it doesn't hide their confusion.

"Is there a problem?" He asks, confused. As they had asked, he'd began telling them the reason why they did not fear the Everfree forest. But as soon as he'd said unicorn…his guests had seemed stunned.

"Are you sure it's not an alicorn, rather?" Applejack asked. "T's what we expected." But the mayor only appeared confused.

"An alicorn? How could it be? There are only four alicorns, and at the legend's time, only two. And it was neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna, the villagers would have recognised them otherwise."

"Well you're wrong, because actually-" Dash said.

"Nothing," Twilight quickly interrupted, staring at Rainbow Dash. "Please start at the beginning."

The mayor blinked several times, trying to understand. A few meaningful glances from Rarity had him back on track, and he began his story from long ago.

"It was soon after the longest night. The darkness had been allowed to rise higher than usual; the shadows and monsters had grown more powerful and threatening. This village back then was used to frequent attacks from the Timber wolves and all, but this time…Foals, fillies and even grown mares started disappearing, trapped in the Everfree Forest. And even though the night had come and gone…the disappearances did not let up."

Fluttershy shivered in her seat. Pinkie happily bounced up and down while the others stared at the mayor.

"And, at that terrible time where our ancestors thought it was better to leave…she appeared."

They expected the thunder, the wind howling, or anything of the likes for better effect. Nothing happened.

The night was quiet and peaceful, and nothing disturbed the story.

"They say everypony had agreed to leave, and they were supposed to the next morning. But that night, a foal got lost into the Forest. By the time they noticed he was gone, night had already fallen. They brought torches and lanterns to try and find him, but they had little hope. A foal, alone in the Everfree Forest, close to midnight…most knew they would never see him again. But as they stood in the forest, ready to turn back and leave…there suddenly was a glowing light in front of them, like a halo of hope and peace. And standing there, as though nothing had ever happened…A unicorn, and the missing foal, both safe, and unharmed."

"What did she look like?" Twilight asked, eagerly taking notes.

"They say her mane was darker than the night itself and her coat a beautiful midnight blue, as though she was the Night herself, but not the darkness. More like…a gentle spirit, one who guides lost foals back to their homes."

"Ye say that like ye've seen her," Applejack accused, sceptical. The mayor shrugged.

"I haven't, but this legend has been passed down for generations. The details were never lost," he finished, looking annoyed this time. "Can I go on?"

"Please do," Fluttershy encouraged him, feeling better now that the scariest parts were over. He took a breath and started speaking again.

"She did not say anything; she merely walked forward until she reached the village, and she left a path of glowing light on her way. The dark creatures of Everfree seemed scared to step a foot near her, as though she protected the good and harmed the evil. When the foal was safe at home, she went back on her steps and circled the forest near the village. The villagers did not know who she was, or what she was doing; she left right after, still without a word. But ever since that day, not a monster has dared step a foot over this invisible line she has traced around the Forest. And that, my friends, is the reason why we do not fear the Everfree forest; this strange mare protects us. We have nothing to fear."

The silence that followed did not last long.

"Wait, that's all? No name, no direction, no more detail? How the hell are we supposed to find her now?!" Dash ranted, displeased.

"Find her? You mean she might be around still? But ho-"

"Don't bother," Twilight interrupted, closing her notebook. "It's just a research project. Is there anything else you can tell us about this legend?"

"There is one last thing, that nopony ever understood," he eventually said, not daring to question the princess further. "They say that when she appeared…she didn't look at anypony. And her eyes…the exact terms are, 'her eyes are an ocean of sadness in which the weak of heart will drown' exaggerated and a bit too romanced for my tastes, but that's what it says."

The mane six shared a glance. It could be too far-fetched, but so far…so far, every single detail matched; mane, body, eyes, and behaviour. If they forgot that the legend portrayed a unicorn, then everything matched, but it was still quite a big detail, one that could throw all of their effort to the wind.

"Do you still need my assistance, princess Twilight?"

While he'd been rather gleeful and enthusiastic in the beginning, it seemed obvious all of their questions and strange behaviours had unsettled him, and he couldn't wait to be out of here. They couldn't really blame him; the secret had to be kept in case they found nothing at all at the end of their journey. Besides, how would the ponies react to knowing there was yet another alicorn? The others had been rather ok, but they had questions which found no answers unless they found the one at the origin of it all. And even if they did find her, the decision would be up to Celestia in the end. So, for now, no telling anypony else.

"One last thing, actually," Twilight quickly said, seeing as the mayor was trying to leave. "Do you have any idea where the a- unicorn went, after she helped your village?"

"Umm," the mayor scratched his head. "Odd question. But I do believe it says she followed the river, towards the Ghastly Gorge most likely."

"Thank you."

The mayor quickly took it as a dismissal, bidding them goodnight before leaving them to themselves. A quick glance out the window told them he was hightailing away from the building while pretending not too, and the ridiculous view caused Rainbow Dash to snort.

"He's no fun at all." Applejack shrugged in response, and they all turned to Twilight.

"So what now?"

"We follow the clues," Twilight answered, closing her notebook. "It is fairly hard to say which legend appears after which, because they are extremely old, so we're going to the Ghastly Gorge next."

"But, Darling," Rarity asked, already in her nightclothes. "Why don't we go straight to San Palomino desert, if it is the last one? It'd be a lot faster."

The others murmured in agreement, and the young alicorn sighed.

"San palomino desert isn't the last legend to appear, but the furthest area in which the legend exists." She explained, taking a map out of her saddle bag. "Basically, Princess Staria could be anywhere in between Applewood, San Palomino desert, Appleloosa and the Everfree Forest."

She'd circled the area in red, so they could see it more clearly. Over a thousand years, there was a high probability that the legends had spread to neighbouring villages and such, but they couldn't leave any area unchecked. They had to follow the tracks and hope it would eventually lead them to princess Staria's hiding place -if it only existed. None of them wanted to admit it -except Dash, maybe- but there was also the chance that she had just…disappeared. Passed away. A lot of things could happen in a thousand years, especially if the 'unicorn' matter wasn't solved quickly.

"That's, like, a fifth of Equestria, Twilight. It's gonna take forever." Applejack remarked.

"Maybe a year or two~" Pinkie sang happily. Rarity gasped.

"Oh no, I can't stay away from my boutique for so long! The next season is coming up and I need to design the new collection and-"

"Calm down, Rarity," Twilight pacified her. "As long as we know where to go, it shouldn't be so long. And whenever the tracks stop, we'll just backtrack until we find the next clue."

The word seemed to suddenly wake Rainbow Dash, as she suddenly straightened from her bed and a book about Daring Do fell out of her hooves. She managed to catch it just in time though, and her loud voice brought all eyes to her.

"Speaking of clues, what's with the 'unicorn' thing? We're clearly not looking for the right pony here, guys."

"Umm, maybe she hid her wings? Under a cloak or something…" Fluttershy suggested, but Twilight shook her head.

"It would have been mentioned. You're right, I don't know why we're faced with a unicorn, but I know we are on the right path. Perhaps we'll find an answer to this question somewhere along the way."

The answer seemed to get them all in agreement, and no further words were exchanged on the matter. They joked around as they settled in their respective beds, with Applejack and Rarity's usual bickering on each other's nightly rituals. The lights were turned out and they all tried to get some sleep.

Tomorrow, they'd follow the river until the Ghastly Gorge, and repeat the same questioning they'd done here, in hopes it would lead them to the lost alicorn.

And actually explain why the _hell_ she'd appeared as a unicorn all this time.

XxxX

Review~


	4. Crystal Magic

Fourth chapter.

I've noticed I have a tendency to randomly switch between past and present when it comes to verbs. I've tried to correct it, but a few may have escaped me.

Another thing, Appeljack's accent is pretty hard to write. I try, but it doesn't always come off like I want. Please bear with me.

Enjoy~

XxxX

 _The grateful smiles of the ponies she helps._

 _The way they look at her, invite her into their homes, offer her a meal, a place to stay -sometimes they beg her to._

 _She is useful._

 _She is helpful._

 _Then why does it feel like a part of herself is still missing?_

 _Some say she is a peaceful ghost trying to help everypony. Others say she's a soul who cannot pass on due to heavy regrets._

 _Many of those who see what others don't try to help her. No one succeeds._

 _No one can help her. She is alone, because they cannot understand._

 _The sorrow in her eyes is an ocean that could drown anypony, not that they really notice. She's become pretty good at hiding._

 _Some say she's an evil demon who took the appearance of a mare, to trick children into following her. It has happened once, so why not again?_

 _She avoids these villages. Being frightening is worse than being ignored._

 _Still she walks on, she never stops. But she never truly reveals herself. She cannot afford for anypony to report her presence to Celestia._

 _She will not go back._

 _It is not her place anymore._

 _For countless moons, she wanders. Sometimes she doesn't see anypony for days on end. Other times she cannot count those she's seen._

 _She's chased bandits and wolves away. She's helped lost foals and fillies, helped the sick and the dying. She's built bridges, houses, villages and any and everything she can think of. While she's no longer an alicorn, her powers are still stronger than the strongest unicorn. Stronger than even Starswirl._

 _What is he thinking now, wherever he is? Had he been there, would any of this have happened? She cannot know, so she stops wondering. She's spent enough months asking herself 'what if' to know it will get her nowhere._

 _It doesn't really matter. Because after all, nowhere is exactly where she's going._

XxxX

"…That bridge's not natural." Applejack frowns, looking ahead suspiciously. Twilight only marvels at the view.

"No, it's magical. But even I could not build such a wonder."

In order to get to the Ghastly Gorge, they departed the small village outside of Everfree Forest early the next morning, and after about two hours of walking, they'd stumbled upon this.

It didn't matter if the mayor had told them about it. Seeing it was another matter altogether.

"It is quite the sight," Rarity agreed, running a hoof on the smooth surface. "Truly, Princess Staria has a wonderful artistic sense."

What were they looking at? A bridge.

A crystal bridge.

A magical, eternal, unbreakable, beautiful crystal bridge.

It was barely bigger than a regular wooden bridge, probably because it would have been superfluous over such a small river. Somehow, the crystal did not blind them with its brightness, for it reflected the faded colours of a rainbow, as though it had captured the memory of one long ago, in order to let it shine on a smaller scale for eternity. Hidden by the trees around until the very last moment, the bridge appeared to have been built to be hidden from view, nestled among the leaves, almost in another world. It had to be a thousand years old, and yet it looked built yesterday, shining and unfazed by weather or time. It could have been made of clouds, with all the swirls and graceful curves, but it did not look like it would have its place in Cloudsdale, nor in Canterlott. In fact, it couldn't be more appropriate for this place: it was a gift, one fitted for a forested area, which wouldn't outshine the rest of its environment.

The bridge had been well-thought in its appearance, place and usefulness. Twilight understood that while Princess Staria was one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, she was also quite smart and thoughtful. Which would make their quest that much more difficult. And yet, while it was obvious she had not wanted to go back to the castle -had not wanted Celestia to find her- she hadn't exactly hidden her tracks either. Did she believe appearing as a unicorn would be enough to get anypony off her tracks?

Did she even think about it?

"We're not gonna stare at it all day, are we?" Dash finally huffs, getting impatient. "Let's cross it."

They followed her lead, Pinkie Pie jumping enthusiastically as she noticed the crystal sang when she jumped hard enough. Somehow, the melodic sound was enough to soothe even Applejack's suspicions, and the mane six went back to their journey, and only Twilight wondered further about the structure they'd just crossed.

Ghastly Gorge was just after the bridge, barely an hour's walk away. The height almost made Fluttershy lose her steps, though she was thankfully caught by Applejack. There, right in the small forest, isolated from the rest of Equestria (as the inhabitants worded it, though Dash snorted conspicuously somewhere in the background as they said it), a small village rested -much like the first one they had seen.

"We're doing like yesterday. Walk around and ask about the legends."

They spread through the village in pairs, but it would only be a disappointment. All they got was the same story they learned yesterday -the legend was carried here from their neighbours and then adapted to their village centuries ago. How could they tell? Too many different versions in the same village, too many incoherencies (how could Princess Staria have created a shield against changelings above the village, a limit that monsters could not cross, and a magical fishing net that would ensure they would never go hungry?) One alone might have been believable, but she couldn't have created all three, especially since Twilight could not detect anything magical in here. And yet…

There was something. Extremely small, almost extinguished -no, not extinguished, but…hidden. And she couldn't get her hoof on it.

The alicorn spent the rest of the day searching for it, in vain. She missed lunch with the others, who eventually decided to just wait for her in the inn once it became certain she wouldn't stop until she'd found whatever she was looking for. But when she finally entered the room, exhausted and eyes downcast, the others knew she hadn't found anything.

"Twilight, a know you want to fin' something, but maybe there actually isn't anything here." Applejack was the first to voice her worries, as Twilight dug into one of her books and began flipping the pages without reading them.

"I know there is," Twilight argued stubbornly. "But it's well hidden. Princess Staria was a powerful alicorn, that's why it's so hard to find."

"But it's been a thousand years, darling," Rarity tried. "Surely whatever protection spell she used has long disappeared?"

"You forget the bridge, guys," Fluttershy piped in. "It's still standing after all this time, and without any damage."

"Maybe she didn't want anypony to find it?" Pinkie suggested. "Or it was one of her secrets she didn't want anypony to know about."

"Whatever it is," Rainbow Dash shrugged, "if it's magically protected, then only Twilight can find it."

The others agreed, some more reluctantly than the others. They settled for the night with a heavy feeling of déjà-vu, the first of many to come in the near future, especially now that they didn't know which direction to take, but then again, Twilight should have expected it wouldn't be so easy to follow her tracks after a thousand years. They'd left barely three days ago, and she hadn't imposed a time-limit to her quest, but she knew Celestia would eventually call them back if it took too long, if only because she didn't want her beloved pupil to waste her time on a quest that could quite possibly never end. If Princess Staria really didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be -that was perhaps her only certitude in this whole journey.

Twilight closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It wouldn't do her any good to torture herself with hopeless thoughts when the search had barely even started. She could already hear Dash's heavy snoring, and Rarity's light one. She'd have a fit if she knew she snored. The young alicorn chuckled quietly at the thought of telling her, imagining her wide-eyed and speechless. Pranks usually were Rainbow Dash's field, but she could indulge herself in some once in a while. Losing herself in happier thoughts, she quickly realised she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, despite her exhaustion. She was thinking too much. And when she did, only one thing could settle her mind: going down in the library to read until her eyes gave up. But as her library was unavailable, she'd settle for a walk under the stars. Perhaps they would give her the answers she sought.

Twilight exited the inn quietly, leaving her peacefully sleeping friends inside. She chose a random path to exit the village, but she didn't dare go further than a few yards away -only far enough to collect her thoughts. At least that's what she intended to do.

Instead, she found herself face to face with a young pegasus, not much older than her. She had a dark red wavy mane, an orange coat and feather-shaped cutie mark. Twilight remembered seeing her in the village -several times actually, now that she thought about it. The Pegasus bowed to her.

"Good evening, your Highness. I can take you to what you've been searching for, if you wish."

"What?" Twilight asked, bewildered. "Who are you? And how do you even know what I'm looking for?"

The mare only smiled mysteriously, retreating into the trees. Twilight followed her hastily. They walked in silence for a while, punctuated only by Twilight's incessant questions -which went unanswered- and the sound of their steps on the leaves and grass. Eventually, she led them to the cliff, from where she could see the river quite some distance below. Twilight could barely even hear the water. She saw that the Pegasus had stopped, and as such, she began to look around with her senses to try and find what she was looking for -the small source of magic.

"So it's here? Where? I can't see it, and it doesn't even feel closer than when I was in the village, are you certain we're in the right place? Perhaps you mistook me for someone else, because apparently there is nothing here that I could be searching for, or maybe there's still a hidden protection that needs to be un-"

"Your Highness."

She'd started rambling without noticing, apparently. Twilight looked back at her Pegasus guide, an apology on the tip of her tongue -and then, she saw the mare wasn't looking at the river below. She was standing on the side, eyes looking down, though they faced her when she spoke.

"What you seek is here."

Twilight took a couple steps forward, on guard. It didn't seem to be a trap, but if it was, she'd definitely-

Her thoughts whirled to a halt.

For a short second, she thought she was back to this morning when they discovered the crystal bridge, but this was different.

Before her eyes, there it stood, a heart-wrenching echo of Princess Staria's sorrow and pain as she passed through here. The tall, mourning flower seemed to be made of crystal too, just like the bridge, and Twilight vaguely wondered if this strange material was Staria's magic signature. It was an Aquilegia, she remembered Fluttershy telling her about it. A flower that usually bloomed in altitude, commonly found on mountains. But this was different. It stood up to her chest, taller than any of its sisters, with the crystal's pale colour. But its petals were cast down, as though the flower was crying and she imagined in the rain, it did. She also realised the flower had a magical origin, but remained what it was: a flower. Beautiful, sad and eternal, just like the bridge. A token of remembrance from princess Staria.

Twilight didn't know when she'd kneeled before the flower, but her guide joined her in the grass. Her quiet breathing eased her agitation.

"Back when I was a foal," the Pegasus started, "my mother used to tell me a story. A story her mother told her when she herself was a filly…and it traces back to centuries before. A story I will tell you now, because I believe you deserve to hear about it…"

She took a deep breath. Twilight did not look away from the flower.

"A long, long time ago…"

XxxX

Review~


	5. I have lost my purpose

The Lost Path 5

Hi there!

New chapter, as usual. Here, a legend told by a mysterious pegasus~

Oh, and I finally decided to create a deviantart account -I've decided I'm not going to care if what I draw is bad. I'm a free elf!

Look for the same username -Hilseo, if you want to see.

I will post mostly drawings of Staria, and perhaps a few other characters you haven't seen yet, but nothing major.

Enjoy~

XxxX

 _She tries to stay away from the dying, but she can't help it._

 _It feels like their souls are calling out to her. Begging her to help them. To save them._

 _She does not have the power to ward off death._

 _She is not the guardian of Life. Celestia is._

 _And yet, somehow, her presence alone is enough to let them pass on peacefully. As though they were trapped in a terrible storm, desperately knocking on the only house they came across, and she was the only one who could open the door and allow them to return to their journey._

 _She doesn't understand._

 _While it makes them feel better, she knows she's missing something._

 _Possibly what she's always been looking for since she was a filly._

 _But it scares her to know the answer._

 _Some ponies start calling her the angel of death. The one who brings an end to everything._

 _Some say she brings freedom._

 _Others say she is a curse._

 _She avoids both._

 _Because it's been so long since she last knew how to interact with them._

 _Some whisper about the stars' disappearance. Some speak in hushed tones of a lost princess, whose name they cannot remember._

 _They whisper of an eternal night plunged in darkness. They pray for the return of the light._

 _She's gone long before they start whispering._

XxxX

A long, long time ago, there was one of the harshest sickness Equestria had ever known. It spread like wildfire, targeting the healthy and the weak, the young and the old, with no distinction. It left in its wake only death, sadness and exhaustion from those who had somehow survived, those who would forever wonder why they did when so many of their loved ones didn't. But there was no answer for these distraught souls, save for this simple fact: death targeted everypony one day, and some had to go before the others so the balance would be kept. It was unfair. It was sad. But it was the way things were, and worst things would happen if they tried to interfere. But one anguished cry resounded wherever death left its unforgiving mark.

Where do the dead go?

Some said Princess Celestia watched over them. A few more knowledgeable said they joined Princess Luna in her never-ending watch.

Others spoke in hushed tones of a mare draped in quiet light, who would accompany the dying on their journey to the other side. Some say she is a benevolent angel, sent to guide them. Many though speaks of a demon in disguise, sent to steal the souls of those who weren't meant to leave. None really know the truth of it.

When the sickness hit this small village, many died. But there was nopony to guide their distraught souls to where they belonged, until she appeared, unseen, unheard, but there indeed. Though the only ones who ever saw her where the dying, those who were bound to follow her. She'd come in quietly, amongst the tears and the ragged breathing. Nopony would actually notice her, except those whose light was starting to dim. As she enters the room in which they rest, they calm down, and their eyes open. They see her, and they know who she is, what is going on. They no longer fear the unknown, because she has come to them to chase the fear away, to guide their path towards the other side. They did not know it. Now they do, it's an intimate knowledge they can't deny. They embrace the peace of mind it brings them -while they have no knowledge of the anguish it brings her.

Violet Spring has spent the past week by her mother's side, praying to Celestia she would recover. But the coughs and paleness worsen with each passing day, and she knows she doesn't have much time left. She is a smart one, Violet Spring. She understands things her friends never have, and never will. She sees things they do not.

Perhaps it is for that reason she sees the angel enter her mother's room, as she is half asleep under the window, hidden by the night's shadows. She watches as her mother startles awake only to calm down soon afterwards. She hears the 'thank you' that pass her lips, before her eyes close. And perhaps more than anything, she sees the bright light that escapes her mother's body, watches as it flies away.

And she sees the angel's expression as it does.

There is no emotion in her eyes when she enters, only perhaps resignation and empathy. But that expression crumbles as her mother dies, and Violet Spring doesn't understand why. She doesn't understand why the angel looks like she wants to scream at the sky and cry. So she follows her when she leaves.

She almost loses her in the dark. Whatever light she had carried before was gone, replaced by something she does not want to know. But still she follows.

She follows her away from the village, away from the mourning and the sickness that still lingers, though it will be over soon. She can't explain how she knows it, but she does. She knows her mother will be the last victim, and while her heart threatens to shatter at the thought, she pushes the pain away for now. She has to.

When she catches up to the angel, she is sitting on a small hill, facing the river. Violet Spring imagines that, a thousand years from now, the hill will probably become a cliff that will dominate the river. She doesn't know why this detail is important.

The angel is not an angel, but a mare. Her aura is not of this world, this she knows immediately; it feels out of place, as though she's not where she belongs. The knowledge comes to her naturally, and she has learned not to wonder about it when it happens. She would never get answers, anyway.

Except this time, she can.

"Why are you sad?"

The mare doesn't startle at the voice, nor does she move from her spot. Instead, it is Violet Spring who joins her to sit by her side. The older mare closes her eyes.

"I have lost my purpose, little one. I do not know where I must go."

Violet Spring has no answer to that. A purpose…she'd asked the question to her mother, once. What their purpose in life was. All she'd said was 'to be happy, and leave this place a bit better than it was when we found it'. Somehow, she knows it is not the answer the mare wants to hear.

"Perhaps it will find you when you least expect it." She says instead, and she means it. Whenever she loses something, it comes back to her the instant she stops looking. She hopes it will be the same for her.

The mare rises from the ground, and Violet Spring is shocked to find a silver tear falling down the angel's cheek as she looks to the horizon.

"Perhaps it will."

Violet Spring doesn't remember watching her leave, though she knows she went towards White Tail Woods. Once again, she doesn't know why the detail is important, but she doesn't forget it. Instead, her eyes are drawn to the ground, where the angel's tear has fallen. There, in a small beam of light, a flower is blooming. In a century, it will still be there. In a thousand years too.

Maybe one day it will help the angel find her lost purpose.

XxxX

"One more tribute she left behind."

The mane six assembled in front of the flower in the morning, after Twilight had retold them of her strange encounter with the mare last night. Mare whom had suspiciously disappeared after telling her story without a trace -and whom nopony in the village seemed to know.

"I don't get it," Rainbow Dash said, puzzled. "For somepony who didn't want to be found, she left quite some clues as to where she was."

"Yeah." Applejack agreed. "A protective barrier, a bridge, and now a flower. We're missin' somethin'."

It did not add up. First, the bridge. It did not seem like something a depressed alicorn would create, and yet, there it was. Twilight believed it spoke of a stronger character than both royal sisters depicted, but she was reluctant to believe Celestia could be wrong. After all, She'd known Staria for centuries, right? How could she have misjudged her character so badly?

Then again, she reminded herself, Celestia had made many mistakes in her youth, had admitted herself to have not pay attention to her sisters as much as she should have. To _both_ her sisters.

The knowledge actually meant they had to rethink everything they thought they knew about the lost Princess. They didn't know nearly enough to make assumptions about her character.

So what if she built a beautiful bridge? So what if she set a barrier to protect a small village and rescued foals? So what if the flower spoke of a strong sadness, a desperate question, which they didn't know had found an answer or not? Perhaps her duty as a princess had stayed with her even after she'd rejected her crown. Perhaps it was unconscious. Perhaps…

Perhaps, somewhere deep in her mind, she'd _wanted_ somepony to find her. To help her. Even a thousand years afterwards…

"Do we go to White Tail Woods now?"

Fluttershy's soft voice interrupted Twilight's inner musings. Yet another thing that did not add up: it was ridiculously easy to follow her tracks after all this time. It was only the beginning of it, but still. Might as well hope it would last.

They departed once more shortly after. This time, it would take them several days to reach the woods, because there was virtually no village in between the Ghastly Gorge and White Tail Woods. But they didn't even know of villages inside the woods either; they could only hope they would find the next place to go, and the track wouldn't stop there. Besides, no town also meant they would have to camp in the wilderness -something that, while Rarity had gotten a lot better at it, still posed some problem, though nothing of great importance.

"How dare you call losing my favourite brush 'nothing of great importance'!"

…well, almost.

They spent close to three days traveling, Rarity complaining all the while that they should have taken the train, but Twilight was adamant about travelling by hooves -lest they miss an important clue, like the bridge or the flower. But so far, they had seen nothing of the likes, and more than one of them started to wonder whether they were on the right path. And the only clue being the words of a ghost (how else could they explain the fact nopony knew her, that she had never given her name and remembered details from a thousand years ago?), it did not help their mood in anyway.

And when they finally reached a village that was, they realised, actually not so far from Ponyville, they decided to revise their strategy, because they were definitely going on a wild goose chase.

"And how else do you want to proceed?" Twilight argued. "We don't know the final destination! We have no choice but to follow the clues, even if they lead us in circles."

"You said the legends stretch all the way to San Palomino desert," Dash said. "why not directly go there and ask about it?"

"Because the legend might have spread from a secondary source, like the second village, darling," Rarity explained, frowning. "I don't enjoy being away from home for too long, but Twilight is right."

The argument slowly died down to nothing as each one slowly retired for the night. Twilight felt like she'd already seen that too many times already, and it was barely a week into their journey. If they were complaining now, how would they be able to go on for the rest of the way? Princess Staria could have wandered for years. It was bound to take some time.

On that note, perhaps they were right. They couldn't afford to spend several months searching for her, they had duties to take care of too. Maybe she should look into a spell to speed things up…


	6. A Clearer Path

The Lost Path

Hi again!

Timeskip here, in both Staria's memories and the mane six' journey. I hope it's not too confusing.

Thank you again for the reviews and favouriting!

To TheShortMuffin07 : Yeah, Staria is alive. As for her wings, you'll have to wait and see~

I've posted a picture of what she used to look like on deviantart. Feel free to go take a look.

Enjoy~

XxxX

 _Eight years._

 _The knowledge slams into her unexpectedly, as it's been so long since anything really made her feel anymore. And yet, those simple numbers are almost enough to bring her to her knees._

 _Eight years._

 _Nothing, for an alicorn. Except she's no longer one._

 _She suddenly remembers that she's mortal. That she doesn't have all the time in the world like she used to. She's still pretty young, but it will not last forever._

 _What happened to being a normal pony?_

 _She did not even try to be one. She wandered, pale and wounded, from town to town, helping and leaving without so much as a look backwards._

 _Is it any wonder they say she's a ghost? She can't even remember the last time she's eaten anything, but she's not hungry. She doesn't even know how it feels anymore._

 _Cold, warmth, comfort, taste, smell, wonder, love. She doesn't remember._

 _They wash over her without her knowledge. She doesn't notice. She doesn't listen._

 _And it will be her downfall._

 _She needs to stop, she knows it. She needs to settle down and lead her life like a mortal, to find the pony that will be so special to her, have a family and let time run its course until the years take their toll on her body. Until the circle of life comes around._

 _But she doesn't know how she can do this. She doesn't remember how it feels to be a normal unicorn. She never really thought she would miss these times._

 _Perhaps she was not meant to live at all. Perhaps she should just curl up somewhere and die._

 _Perhaps she should have never existed in the first place._

XxxX

Two months.

Way too long for a search, and without any real progress on princess Staria's location.

Worst, they seemed to have backtracked a lot.

Reaching White Tail Woods had been easy, thanks to the path that now existed between the different places. And, along the way, they'd found many more clues that princess Staria had stepped on the same path -some traces of her magic, small objects imbued with her power, some peculiar unexplained events in small villages along the way. But these clues had gotten fewer and farther in between, until they couldn't find anything at all. Once they'd reached the first town and followed the usual interrogation process that had now become as familiar as breathing, they'd been unpleasantly surprised to find that nopony had the same opinion on the mysterious mare, nor the same details and viewpoint on the legend.

And worse, it was actually the same thing long after they'd left the woods and crossed the river towards Applewood.

"I tell you, it was a demon! A demon who killed and stole foals until it was chased away by my ancestors, the hunters!"

"Riiiight, granny, and you remember this because you were here? I know you were old, but senile as well…"

"Why, you impertinent! Youngsters these days!"

"It was a ghost. Possibly the mayor's companion, who passed away due to the sickness…"

"At least we agree it was no pony. Everypony say she was extremely pale, and had a strange, ethereal aura, almost scary…"

"All the more reason to say she was a demon!"

"I say a ghost who couldn't move on!"

"Her eyes, fool! The legend says her eyes were empty, devoid of life and feelings!"

"So? Ghosts are dead, you know."

"You-"

Dash wisely decided to walk away from the arguing crowd (it was totally not because they were completely ignoring her. Absolutely not.). It did not help their search in any way, and as she met the others' hopeful gazes, she quickly realised they had not been any luckier than her.

"Pretty sure we can cross this place too, guys," she said, plopping down on the ground and taking a cookie from the plate in front of her. "Nopony knows anything that could help us."

There were collective groans, but they otherwise remained silent. How many times had it happened already? They were lounging around in the local inn, in the great room which they had been given upon their arrival, but the last time they had actually been productive was perhaps a month and a half ago. Since then, it had been absolutely impossible to find a single clue -or at least one unique, coherent version of the same legend in the white tail woods -and they'd gone up to the foot of the Smoky Mountains, without success. They only knew princess Staria had not gone so far north, which was barely a relief, seeing as they already more or less knew it, thanks to Twilight's initial research. Still.

"I honestly don't get it, guys," Twilight allowed her notebook to fall to the ground, a frown on her features. "Princess Staria's tracks -they're not coherent at all, to the point that if we were dealing with anypony else, I'd think they lost their mind somewhere along the line."

"Maybe she did, and that's why we can't find anything?" Dash suggested, shrugging. "The first clues were way too obvious -blatant. And then, nothing, except these pitiful legends -which don't even match anymore." The others murmured among themselves, tired and more than a little irritated at their lack of progress. None of them wanted to say it, but they couldn't go on like this, not knowing whether they were going in the right direction, or if they would find anything.

They'd stubbornly explored White Tail woods during two weeks, looking for clues with no success, because they were convinced princess Staria had left another major clue like the bridge or the flower. But after so many hours spent exploring the undergrowth, they had had to admit she had left nothing behind. And it was strange to believe she would go from dropping obvious clues and a clear trail to nothing at all. The trail only existed through the legends now, and even they had gotten blurred and flimsy, even though it had to be expected with stories a thousand years old. The surprising thing actually was that the first villages had had such a unique and clear version instead of several, like now. Twilight sighed.

"Let's see what we have so far," she paused, and the others looked at her. "First, very obvious clues and a detailed legend -which tells us exactly where to go, even after a thousand years. Then, smaller traces, and in the end, not a single clue and an infinity of different versions from the same legend. It feels like we missed something major here."

"Like what? We bloody explored every single inch of forest there was to explore!" Dash snapped, tail swishing agitatedly behind her.

"Yep -every rock, leaf, and patch of grass, but nothing." Pinkie sang, happily munching on a cake. Twilight shook her head.

"I know that, I was there. I don't think we've missed anything, but perhaps…" the alicorn paused, unsure.

"Ya think somepony erased the clues?" Applejack asked, thoughtful. "Would explain a few things at least."

"But nopony actually believes her to be real, darling," Rarity frowned. "Who would want to erase a ghost's tracks? Only we know the truth."

"Perhaps time has actually tampered with the clues?" Fluttershy suggested. "Perhaps there used to be clues, but they did not last?" Twilight shook her head again.

"The bridge and flower wouldn't have been so well preserved if such was the case. It should be the other way around, the further we went from Canterlott, the more clues we should have found, since the oldest clues would be closer to the cas-" she abruptly cut herself off.

"To the what?"

"To the castle…" She trailed off, before turning to face her friends with a sharp gaze. "What if we were wrong since the beginning? What if we're actually following her tracks….backwards?"

She was met with stunned glances, but Twilight didn't actually take notice. Instead, she dug her notebook out of her bag and proceeded to reread it from the beginning.

"We started from Everfree because it was the closest place from the old castle, but what if she actually flew away from the Castle -say, to the outskirts of Equestria- before coming back on hooves? It would explain why the closest we go to the old castle, the more clues we get, when it should be the other way around!"

"And one more thing: the legend. It is unique and unchallenged close to the old castle, but as soon as we stepped a hoof in White Tail Woods and then in Applewood -we got different versions, vastly different. Why is that?"

The last question was rhetorical, they all got it. Applejack only shrugged in answer.

"Simply because she actually passed twice in the area -once in the beginning, and a second time years after. Her arrival and appearance could have been taken differently, and over time, these two different facts merged as one. So basically, we're on the right track, and the last place we haven't checked yet is South, towards San Palomino desert -looks like you were right since the beginning, Dash," Twilight ended her tirade with an excited grin. The others shared confused and uncertain glances.

"This is a wonderful theory, darling," Rarity started. "But there is virtually no proof that it is correct."

"Besides, a thousand years' a long time," Applejack added. "The order in which the clues were left should not matter, a millenia would still get 'em in a sad state."

"And the second legend at the Ghastly Gorge said princess Staria went to White Tail Woods! What do you make of that?" Rainbow Dash remarked, sceptical. Twilight only grinned, grabbing a map from her notebook.

"Simple. I believe her full trip started somewhere in the Undiscovered West," she made a small red cross on the map, "then she went to White Tail Woods, Everfree Forest, Ghastly Gorge, White Tail Woods again -the area's pretty big, after all- then to Applewood, San Palomino desert…and maybe to Appleloosa afterwards."

"It seems a bit strange," Fluttershy voiced quietly. "The journey -the path seems…awkward."

"Yeah, it's pretty erratic and illogical. Why stay within a single part of Equestria?"

"Perhaps she wasn't in the right state of mind as she travelled," Twilight mused. "Or perhaps she has really bad orientation?" Dash snorted.

"Or she was just plain nuts. I don't really think I wanna meet her if that's the case."

"Dash!"

"What?"

"That's just mean."

"It's no less true."

"Enough, guys. Let's not make assumptions until we know for certain, alright?"

They reluctantly agreed, and the friends agreed to travel to the desert in the morning. They had renewed hope of finding something, but they were all too aware of another fact: only two places remained to be checked, San Palomino desert and Appleloosa. If neither of these places yielded any result, it would be the end of the search -they wouldn't succeed. Perhaps once they had visited every place, they could gather everything they knew and try to understand princess Staria's journey. Because, for all of Twilight's careful thinking, they were still missing half of the puzzle, pieces scattered in these two areas they had yet to explore. They could very well find something that would completely shatter Twilight's theory and send them back at the beginning. They wouldn't know until they had searched.

Twilight, for her part, was confident their quest would end somewhere in between the two areas. After all, the legend had already travelled to villages Staria had never stepped a hoof in. It seemed only logical that she had settled down near Appleloosa after crossing the desert, resulting into the legend being carried over to the city even though she might have never actually gone there. She just knew it.

They slept like the dead that night, believing after long weeks of fruitless exploring, they were finally going to reach their goal. It would take them several days to reach the outskirts of the desert.

It promised to be interesting if, as Twilight had guessed, she had indeed gone there.

XxxX

Review~


	7. Desert Troubles

The Lost Path 7

Hey there, transition chapter this time.

The long search s coming to an end, though they don't quite know it yet. In the next chapter, we'll get a clue as to where Staria's been this whole time. Stand ready~

XxxX

 _Cold._

 _The water is too cold._

 _She remembers how it feels, now. Shivering, curling up on oneself in order to find some warmth, to protect oneself against the cold…_

 _And in a desperate attempt to keep death at bay._

 _She does not fear death. She's been dead inside for far too long. She can feel it too, now._

 _The gentle wave of darkness, slowly gathering her in its embrace. She is at peace. A tiny part of her whispers that her time hasn't come yet. That she has yet to understand…_

 _Understand what? For so long, she's been searching. Searching for the missing part of her heart, searching for a reason._

 _Why was she born in the first place?_

 _Why would there be two princesses of the night?_

 _The day only needs one princess. Equestria only needs two._

 _Why were they three?_

 _Oh, mother…what did you mean…when you said…_

 _That I was the Guardian of lost souls…?_

 _Please…I always wondered…what have I missed…?_

 _Where did I mess up…?_

 _I never did what I was meant to…did I…?_

 _But why was I the only one who didn't know…?_

 _Mother…I feel so lost…_

 _I wonder…if anypony…will miss me…_

 _Darkness falls over her. She doesn't breathe. The wind still howls as the night embraces the earth one more time as it is entitled to._

 _And long after the sun has set and the moon has arisen alone in the midnight sky, hooves, somewhere, suddenly break the silence._

XxxX

"Finally!" Dash exhaled, shoulders dropping in exhaustion. "It was about damn time."

Before them stood a small village –the first since they'd entered San Palomino desert, a few hours ago. Twilight had casted a spell to protect them from the harsh sun, but even her alicorn magic could not protect them against the sweltering heat. More than new information and the rebirth of their search, a town meant coolness, water, and plenty of rest.

And an end to Rarity's complains, too.

They went straight to the inn, asking to rent a large room for them all, and the mare at the counter was all too happy to get them the best she had, overwhelmed at the idea of housing the princess of Friendship and her infamous friends.

"Really your Highness, it is a true honour to have you in my inn."

They all mutedly agreed to take a much deserved rest before they set out to gather information, once again. They'd stopped counting how many times they'd done this already since the beginning of their search –and perhaps it was better they had. Rarity would probably faint if she knew.

As of now, none spoke a word as they settled down. It was not quite late morning, so they had plenty of time still. And hopefully the heat would lessen by the time the afternoon rolled by –and it would be a lot more pleasant to be outside.

XxxX

"Excuse me, miss –do you have a minute for us? We have a few questions we'd like to ask you, about this town and its past, mostly."

The mayor looked exhausted and worried, but she showed them the way to her office without a word, only nodding and checking the notes she was carrying with her, frowning all the way. When she opened the door, they saw her desk was almost crumbling under the weight of a thousand sheets strewn haphazardly everywhere, in oddly-shaped piles, looking ready to collapse. The books on the shelves looked dusty, as though they hadn't been touched in ages, and not for lack of desire to, apparently. Now that she thought about it, Twilight realised the whole town seemed slightly worried and wary, and her friends had gotten more than one distrustful look. Something was fishy here.

"What can I do for you, your Highness?" The unicorn sat in her chair, trying to tidy her environment a bit in order to look more like an office and less like…something else. To no avail. She quickly gave up with a shrug. "Please excuse my office's state –we have a few issues we're trying to deal with, but they prove to be quite a pain."

"Yeah, 'bout that," Rainbow Dash quickly asked before Twilight could say something, "what's wrong here? You ponies look like ghosts keep jumping at you from the shadows or something."

The mayor blinked once. Twice.

"That's pretty accurate. Give or take a few details, of course."

"What?"

The mare put her hooves on her desk and threw a suspicious glance out the window. There was nopony on the streets. Satisfied, she glanced back at her guests.

"It has been going on for a while now –things started to disappear at night. Only merchandise, mind you, but merchandise we intended to sell and earn profit from. We never managed to catch the thieves, but we spotted them more than once. They are terrifying flying creatures, with leather wings and gleaming fangs. Their eyes look like animals' and they blend in with the shadows as soon as we catch a glimpse of them. As though they were ghosts. They are numerous and we fear they might one day steal everything from us, thus our town's current state of weariness," the mayor paused. "We've tried to catch them several time without success. So…"

She looked straight at Twilight, undisguised hope in her eyes.

"Will you help us, your highness? We are in dire need of assistance, I fear."

"Why not file a complain to Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, thoughts swirling with information. "She would have sent help."

"We were about to," the unicorn replied. "You arrived first, so I figured I'd just ask you."

"We can't leave these ponies alone, Twilight," Applejack said. "It won't delay us to help them."

"I wasn't planning to leave them be," Twilight answered truthfully. "Besides, I'm curious to see what kind of creatures they might be."

"Hell yeah!" Dash did a small looping. "Let's catch these thieves and bring them down!"

The mayor gratefully thanked them for their help, and proceeded to gather witnesses in the hall to devise a plan. Soon enough, the mane six stood in the room with the mayor, the sheriff (western hat, glinting star on his chest –what else could he be?), two shopkeepers who had been targeted several times already, the librarian (because apparently, several books had been stolen too) and two other mares who grew flowers.

"We've tried to set a net and bait them with items they usually take," the sheriff explained, frowning. "But they either avoid it completely, or tear it to shreds and take the item regardless. We've tried preventing them from entering the shops altogether too, but they always manage to sneak in and out without being seen."

"They attack only at night, right?" Applejack asked. The Librarian nodded.

"It is as though they can see in the dark. We've set quite a lot of random objects to impede their path once –they avoided every single one of them."

"Nocturnal creatures, then," Fluttershy guessed, trying to recall any being that matched the portrait they had so far. "I would say bats –but they are far too small, and have no use for iron or apple seeds…"

"Whatever they are," Twilight quickly scribbled something in her notebook, "they are strong, flying and stealthy nocturnal creatures. They are bound to fear the light –or at least, to be disorientated if we try to shed some light on them."

"We already tried that," one shopkeeper argued, shaking his head. "They always flee before we can switch the lights on."

"Then we tie them up so they can't~" Pinkie sang happily. It was slightly disturbing to hear.

"To tie them up we need to catch them first, darling," Rarity explained. "Which brings us back to the main problem."

"How 'bout we leave only one opening, then shut it once they're in?" Applejack offered, but the idea was dismissed again.

"We've tried that, too." The mayor shook her head slightly. "They never come when we do. It's like they just know what we're doing."

"Oh, come on!" Dash whined. "There has to be something you guys haven't tried and failed already!"

"We've been trying to catch them for months, miss," the sheriff replied, slightly ticked off. "We've tried basically everything we could think of. Closing the doors, lighting them, throwing nets, water, glue, making noise, scaring them, hiding everything –nothing ever worked."

"Except combining all of this."

They all looked at Twilight like she was crazy. Her friends, however, knew that the grin on her face and the passionate scribbling meant she had a plan. They did not ask. The alicorn finally raised her head and smiled at the small assembly.

"We're going to need the whole town for my plan to work –along with ropes, strong lights, large pieces of fabric, and Pinkie's party canon."

They looked at each other confusedly, wondering what the princess' plan was, but she did not say. In the end, they agreed to gather everything she had asked for.

Later that day, before the evening, every Pegasus in the town was busy attaching large pieces of cloth sewn together by Rarity to the buildings on each side of the main street –which provided shadows for the ponies below, which they were thankful for, though they did not quite understand what use they would have in catching the thieves.

"Tighter knots, Fluttershy," Twilight warned. "They must be able to withstand an earthquake."

"We're working on it."

"Applejack –how are the lights?"

"Ready to be lit, Twi."

"Dash?"

"I've distributed the ropes as you ordered."

"Pinkie?"

 _Kaboom!_

"…I'll take that as a yes. Alright then, we're ready for our thieves."

The plan in itself wasn't that complicated, but it heavily relied on coordination and everyone acting at the right time, something that might prove difficult, seeing as more or less the whole town was involved. But she was confident they could pull it off.

She'd spelled a few pairs of glasses so they could see in the dark and protect their eyes against brutal light. When the thieves came to steal from the shops, the unicorns would launch the strongest light spells they knew at the scene, along with the flashlights they had distributed to the ponies. Pinkie would bring out her party canon force ten for extra noise, further disorientating the thieves, and when they'd try to fly up to escape –they'd be impaired by the fabric above and the ropes the citizens would throw at them. _Let's see how they escape that,_ Twilight thought confidently. It seemed ridiculously overboard –but since they had been trying for months to catch the thieves without success, she figured it was justified. Somewhat.

"Let's recap one last time. Fluttershy, you warn us with your bats when they arrive."

The small Pegasus nodded timidly, a small bat nestled in her pink mane. She'd sent them to warn the others of the thieves incoming.

"Applejack, you watch after the bait –you will give the signal to lit the lights and everything."

"Got it."

"Rarity and I will start the light spells."

"Of course."

"Dash, you throw the ropes once the light is on."'

"Roger that," the mare grinned enthusiastically.

"And Pinkie…"

"I blow them up with my super-duper party canon! Yay!" She pulled the trigger, and a shower of confetti rained on her friends. Twilight only shook her head.

"Good. Well then, all we have to do is wait."

It was perhaps the hardest part of their plan, seeing as they had no idea when the thieves would strike again –they did so every few weeks, but they could pretty much spend a month waiting without seeing even the shadow of a thief. Twilight dearly hoped they would not wait so long, because their efficiency would be greatly reduced by stress, lack of sleep and boredom. They would have but one single chance, they couldn't mess it up.

Especially since, she couldn't quite explain it, she had a feeling these strange thieves were somewhat connected to their own search for the lost Alicorn.

XxxX

Review~


	8. Bat Ponies!

Hello again,

Aaaaannnnnd…not quite the answer, but half of it. Hope you enjoy~

XxxX

" _She's so pretty…"_

" _Hush, Firefly. She needs to rest."_

" _But she's been asleep for so long!"_

" _Only Celestia knows what she's been going through, and-"_

 _Sapphire eyes slowly blink open._

" _Oh? I think she's waking up."_

" _Really!?"_

" _Hello, dear. How do you feel?"_

 _A dark cave, somehow warm and full of life._

 _A place that feels extremely familiar, and nostalgic somehow. She has trouble keeping her eyes open, but somehow, as she closes them again, she knows._

 _She's found something extremely important, perhaps what she had always been searching for._

 _She doesn't know how she knows it, but she does. And for the first time in a long, long time, there is no one to contest this thought._

 _Her answer is waiting._

XxxX

The small 'creeek!' in her ear was so discreet she almost did not hear it. But the small flutter of wings made it impossible to ignore, and when she finally spotted the small bat by her side, she was immediately on guard and wide awake. On the other side of the street, she spotted a few shapes coming to life behind the windows, tensing in anticipation. _They're here._

Her spelled glasses allowed her to see more clearly, but it was far from being a real night vision. Twilight could only see the shape of the intruders, but it was almost enough to make her gasp out loud. They looked like ponies. Pegasus, rather. They flew around without a sound, obviously searching for whatever they could take –the alicorn noticed they were carrying bags which didn't look empty. They must have stolen one thing or two already, but they had to wait until they came nearer their area. Then, the plan could start.

She spotted three shapes, one of which kept flying in low circles above the two –most likely keeping watch for traps. Hopefully they wouldn't notice the villagers hiding behind their windows.

At last, the two on the ground started creeping closer to their bait –an apple cart, stationed under a tree. The various seeds were impossible to miss behind the glass, and Twilight dearly hoped they wouldn't see the glue they had spread over it. It would only slow them down and buy them the few seconds they needed to catch them off-guard, but it had to be enough.

Plus, Applejack actually had her lasso wrapped around the cart. When they try to move it, she would give the signal. After three sleepless nights of waiting, it was now only a matter of minutes.

They appeared suspicious, or perhaps it was their usual behaviour. She wasn't certain, but they looked smaller than average ponies. Perhaps they were a type of flying cavern dogs, like the ones Rarity had encountered? Or small dragons, maybe. She would know once they caught them. Lost in thoughts, she didn't notice as the one flying above crept closer to a peculiar window, where a small mare was trying her best to stay unnoticed. Below, the smaller of the two thieves approached the cart cautiously, ready to lay his hoof on the glass, when-

His companion noticed the pony behind the window, and she screeched in warning.

The thief immediately leapt away from the cart and spread his wings just as Applejack yelled the signal and swung her lasso.

Rarity and Twilight both sprung into the street, their horns lit, along with all of those who carried flashlights, but the intruders were already flying up, out of the light and safe, they assumed. That was without counting Pinkie's party canon.

"It's time to paaaaaartyyyyy!" She yelled as loudly as she could, and fired.

Twilight had assumed when she said she needed 'loud enough to wake the dead', Pinkie would go the extra thousand mile to make it so, and she was right. She was so glad for the earplugs she'd given everypony as she saw the thieves' fly suddenly grow erratic and frenzied –save for the third one, who managed to slip away right before the canon boomed in their ears. She flew away into the night, worriedly glancing back at her companions –but she knew she could not help them tonight. She disappeared in the night, away from the war zone. The General had to be informed…

Back in the street, Rainbow Dash and the ponies at the windows threw their ropes –tied into nets- on the intruders. The cloth above the buildings prevented them from flying away, and they were heavily brought to the ground under the weight of the ropes, limbs tangled and useless. As soon as they were down, Rainbow proceeded to tie a rope around their bodies as they tried to escape, to no avail. They struggled a bit more, but when a mob of angry citizens started forming around them –they stopped. But their anger morphed in surprise and confusion when they realised exactly what the intruders were.

Bat Ponies.

"Alright, good job everypony!" The mayor yelled, quieting the shouts and yelps. "You can all go to sleep now –we'll take care of the rest, thank you all and have a peaceful night, now that we have caught the thieves."

They suddenly remembered that, indeed, they had barely slept for three days. Yawns erupted everywhere, and the crowd dispersed rather quickly after that. Only the mane six, the mayor and the sheriff remained.

"Let's get them to the town hall," the sheriff suggested. "We can interrogate these two here."

"Good idea."

They dragged their two thieves to the building in question, and they did not protest –apparently still stunned by the noise and the light. Twilight felt slightly guilty for that.

When they entered the room at last and turned the lights on, the two bat ponies appeared to snap out of their shock. They blinked several times, and a few of them noticed their pupil shrank under the light, eerily reminding them of cats' eyes.

"Oi! Let us go this instant!" The smaller one snapped at them, hissing violently. Under the light, Twilight realised he had to be perhaps a few years older than the CMC. His coat was a dark grey with a few white patches on his nose and back while his companion's was a light blue. His mane and tail were a flaming red, a shade lighter than his friend's, who appeared older. Both had fangs, bat-like wings, pointy ears, and cat eyes. Other than that, they did not look that different from regular ponies.

"First, buddy, you've got an explanation to give us," Dash snapped, getting in his face. He did not relent.

"We mean you no harm," the older one eventually said, drawing Dash's attention away from the staring contest she was having. "We only take what we need –and we largely compensate for it."

"That's stealing all the same," the mayor scowled. "You don't ask the owners if they agree to the trade."

"As if you'd ever agree to trade with us!" the younger bat pony yelled again. "You see us as monsters –undeserving, wretched creatures! And you'd leave us to starve and die without moving a hoof to help us! If there is a monster here, it is not us, but you-"

"Enough, Sparkle." His companion said, shaking his head. "They have a point, but if you just hear us out," he directed his gaze towards Twilight, "then I'm certain you will understand and forgive us." The Sheriff snorted somewhere in the background, but Twilight pointedly ignored him.

"Alright then," she said, sitting down in a chair, facing the strange duo. "I'm listening."

"Thank you, princess," he answered, and tried to get as comfortable as possible. "My name is Sunflame, and my friend here is Sparkle Cloud. We are Bat ponies."

"Gee, thank you captain obvious."

"Dash."

"Fine, sorry. Do go on."

"We live further in the desert, in a great cavern. But there are many things necessary to our lives that we can't get in the desert, and have to take in the villages like this one instead."

"So you're stealing in other villages, too!?" the mayor screeched. Sunflame sighed.

"We try to trade and buy as much as we can –some ponies are actually willing to have business with us- but it is not enough. So when we can't…"there he seemed to search his words carefully, before shrugging, "then we take what we need discreetly, and leave enough to compensate for what we take."

"Compensate? Most of the time, there is nothing left!" At that, Sunflame glanced at his companion, who suddenly appeared extremely uncomfortable.

"Sparkle Cloud, explain yourself."

"I didn't mean to! But half of the time I forget to take the trading items or the money so I try to remember to compensate the next time we go…and by then I no longer remember who I took it from." He looked sheepish, and suddenly much younger than he was. Or rather, he looked exactly his age –and not as though he'd been forced to grow up too fast.

Sunflame sighed.

"I apologize on behalf of my young companion. If you can make a list of the 'stolen' items, I can work with my people to compensate what we took. If you set us free first, of course."

"What we want is for you to stop stealing!" the sheriff raised his voice, apparently fed up with the conversation. "If you had come to us first to offer to trade or buy, then we would have-"

"You think we haven't tried already?"

This time, Sparkle Cloud had been the one to interrupt. There was none of the previous anger in his tone, only an odd sense of exhaustion and the bitter taste of defeat.

"Every village we try, it's the same thing. You fear us. Call us monsters, freaks of nature that should not exist. We don't steal because it's convenient, but because you've given us _no other freakin' choice_."

The accusation hung heavily in the air, and the mane six exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"Perhaps we should discuss it again in the morning," Rarity said, batting her eyelashes. "Nopony takes good decision without being well-rested." The sheriff and the mayor looked both ready to protest and argue further, so Applejack was quick to interfere.

"Yeah, Rarity's right," she agreed. "Let's wait for the morning."

It took a few more convincing to get the mayor and the sheriff to go to sleep, but they eventually did, after Twilight spelled the room so the two bats wouldn't be able to leave, and Rarity insisted upon getting them comfortable. They were freed of their restrains, but locked in the building. Out of safety, the mane six elected to sleep in the same building –an agreement made to placate the sheriff about the security, though they doubted they had anything to worry about. Twilight was dying to ask them about what they were, their origins, way of living, eyes, differences with the regular ponies, etc. She could not wait for the morning to finally get her answers.

"So, what do you think?"

Applejack gently took off her hat, thinking.

"I don' think they were lyin' about stealing to survive, but a feel like we're missin' something."

"They said they were treated like monsters…"Fluttershy wondered aloud, brushing her mane. "But I can't believe everypony would treat them as such."

"Well, if they steal first and ask later, it's no wonder nopony wants to trade with them," Dash shrugged.

"I think…" Twilight eventually said, frowning, "that while the youngest –Sparkle, I think?- may have forgotten a handful of times to leave payment, it does sound like they actually pay for what they take. So why didn't the mayor or anypony else mention that? It makes quite a difference."

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that they're basically buying like normal ponies. I admit it's unconventional, but since whatever was being taken would have been sold anyway…why such a fuss?"

"Maybe the ponies forget the extra money they have in the morning and believe they've been robbed instead of having secretly sold items in the night?" Pinkie piped up, bouncing up and down on her bed. Dash eyed her with a raised eyebrow, wondering how the hell she could still be so lively after nearly three sleepless nights. Oh well. Pinkie would always stay Pinkie.

"I don't know, darling," Rarity said, trying to mask a yawn, "but I am quite certain the enquiry can wait for the morning."

The idea appealed to everypony and they settled down. They had a long day ahead of them.

And they didn't even know how right they were.

XxxX

Review~


	9. Queen Staria

The Lost Path 9

Hey again!

Aaaaaannnnnnndddd….Staria finally makes an appearance!

Hope you enjoy~

XxxX

" _Come on! I wanna show you around!"_

 _She's not used to foals and fillies, but she finds it hard to resist his persistent nagging. He is so young, she's not even sure he was born before Nightmare Moon, but it doesn't matter, and not in a bad way. He's just a foal._

 _There aren't so many of them, and she is puzzled by what she sees. They live in a cavern bigger than the royal castle, with holes in the walls marking the different homes. The light of the moon shines through in several places and some crystals glow in the dark, but it is still quite badly lit, and she needs to use a spell to be able to see. While ponies living in caverns is unusual but not unheard of, the fact is, they are desperately unfit to live there._

 _Their eyes are weak. Half of them are actually blind, and while their hearing is enough for them to walk around without hitting anything, finding food is a different matter. Outside, the air is dry and the sun deadly, burning away any plant that might try to grow. Stepping a hoof outside is the equivalent of suicide. They live at night as a result, when the temperature goes back to being bearable._

 _But it doesn't change anything. Nothing can grow here, and they survive on roots and every smallest nut, berry or leaf they can find. The foals are used to it and don't complain, but their parents are worried._

 _They know a day will come where they just won't find enough food. Death looms over them all._

 _And yet, they helped a stranger, gave her shelter and their precious food, and offered her to stay._

 _She's never met ponies so generous._

 _As it stands, most of them are earth ponies. It is easily explained: earth ponies are notably more resistant than the others. It is no wonder that, in such a difficult environment, only the strongest survives. It is evident by their small number and the ever-present sadness in their eyes that they've already lost too many. The thought makes tears well up in her eyes._

 _She doesn't know how long they will hold on, and while she might not know these ponies, something inside of her snaps at their distress._

 _No, it does not snap._

 _It heals._

XxxX

They should have expected that the third bat pony –the one who had escaped- would bring in reinforcements. But nopony could have expected that the bat ponies actually were a lot like them –in the sense that when one of their own was threatened, they fought back. Twice as hard.

The night was still young. And with the whole town sleeping like the dead after those exhausting sleepless nights, the coast was clear.

Four hours after they had all gone to sleep, several figures flew quietly over the sleeping town, looking for their kin. It did not take them long.

Their leader, a tall, dark-maned stallion with a brown coat and looking slightly ticked off, carefully approached the window through which he could see the two idiots who had accompanied Gleaming Stream. Honestly, he'd thought sending her with them would prevent any form of spectacular failure. Apparently, he was wrong.

Through another window, he glimpsed the ponies responsible for this disaster of an expedition, and he scowled. They shouldn't have interfered with what did not involve them.

The General Starseeker gave a sign to his followers, and three of them quietly slipped inside the building. The first two sneaked into the room full of sleeping ponies, while the last one proceeded to free her friends. Sunflame spotted them first, shaking Sparkle Cloud so he'd look at them. The ropes were cut and torn to shreds in a matter of minutes, in undisturbed silence, in order not to wake the other inhabitants of the building. They slipped out the way the others had sneaked in, through the window –and Sparkle immediately cowered upon finding himself on the receiving hand of the General's pissed off gaze. He gulped.

"I swear it wasn't my-" He said as soon as he was free. His leader only glared at him.

"I don't want to hear it. Moonbreeze?"

"The blue Pegasus woke when we entered, but Thundering Sky managed to knock her out," The mare said, glancing at her companions, who were carrying the unconscious friends. "The others followed suit."

"What?" Sunflame faltered. "You're taking them with us? That's-"

"She's the youngest alicorn, Celestia's student," Starseeker said, gesturing to Twilight, resting on Thundering Sky's back. "The Queen will want to see her. Celestia might be involved." He stretched his wings and flew up, away from the small town. The original trio took off after them, though they kept a safe distance from their displeased leader.

"That still totally doesn't make it alright." The big stallion grumbled.

"Give up, Sunflame." Sparkle snorted softly, enjoying his newly returned freedom. "If it's truly wrong, then the Queen will kick his ass, not ours."

Somewhere ahead of them, the leader twitched and directed a murderous glance backwards. Gleaming Stream shivered.

"I'm never teaming up with you two again."

XxxX

"She's an alicorn…"

"That's princess Twilight, right? So why did she threaten us?"

"She's just like the rest of Equestria! She sees us as monsters!"

"Come now, we haven't even heard her out…"

"You really need another proof? They captured Sparkle and Sunflame!"

"Hush, I think they're waking up."

Twilight groaned softly, eyes blinking as she slowly regained consciousness. Around her, the many whispers fell quiet, but in the dim lighting of the cave, she could barely see the bat ponies. She could see several glowing crystals on the rocky walls around her, allowing her to guess at the shapes surrounding them, but no more. There was movement behind her, and she was glad to hear Dash's outraged shout.

"Oi, free us this instant, you cowards!"

"How dare you treat us ladies this way?!"

It appeared the others had woken up as well, but when the alicorn tried to light her horn to see them, she found out with dread that she could not –and it had probably something to do with the glowing rope she was tied up with. She had no magic to help her friends, and they were at the mercy of these strange ponies, who did not appear quite that friendly, if the wary or downright furious gazes thrown their way was anything to go by.

Were her eyes finally starting to get used to the darkness?

"Lookie here guys, we mean you no harm," Applejack attempted to pacify them. "The villagers told us some creatures were stealing their goods, so we only sought to-" There was an angry yell.

"Stealing! We're buying, not stealing!"

"Yeah, without the owner's consent," Dash snorted. She yelped right afterwards as Applejack smacked her.

"Our point is," Twilight said, struggling in her bindings, "that our intentions are not hostile. We merely sought to understand."

"Really?"

The new voice had silenced all the others, and the tall stallion she had glimpsed when they were captured came into view. He looked like the one in charge; maybe he'd be more-

"Do you capture every living creature you try to _understand_ , princess?" Twilight winced. Her title sounded like an insult in his mouth.

"Hey! You captured us too, so that makes us even!" The stallion didn't even glance at her, which enraged Rainbow Dash even further, hissing and cursing under her breath.

"I merely seek to defend my people," he replied, his voice hard. "What were your intentions? And what are you doing in such a remote place as San Palomino desert?"

"Like it's any of your-"

"We are looking for Princess Staria, Celestia and Luna's sister."

Judging from the stunned silence that suddenly washed over the curious crowd, that was not a good thing to say. They exchanged worried glances, though the stallion did not react to the news. It was not long before the whispers started again, hushed and confused.

"You think they know…?"

"How could they even…?"

"Would she leave us? It's her sisters, after all…"

"Never. She'd never leave. She'd never abandon us."

"It'd kill us all!"

"It can't happen!"

"They have to leave!"

"We need to-"

"Calm down, everypony," a young mare, a bit smaller than the stallion, attempted to pacify the crowd. Her gentle cerulean eyes seemed to restore the peace, and her soothing voice quieted the last of the whispers. "Nothing will happen, we will make certain of-"

The stallion raised a hoof, wordlessly silencing the mare. She gazed back at him, uncertain.

"General…?"

"I know she said she did not wish to be disturbed," he paused, a frown on his features, "but somepony needs to fetch the Queen."

"No need, Starseeker. I am here."

In one fluent move, as though they were one, every single pony around them dropped to a knee and bowed to the tall figure now approaching from the back of the cavern. Even the harsh stallion –Starseeker, apparently- closed his eyes and bowed in reverence. Perhaps it was what surprised Twilight the most. Their eyes held nothing but the utmost respect and adoration for the powerful figure whom now towered over them all, and she gasped.

"Oh my…Is this…?" She heard Rarity breathe in awe behind her. Twilight could barely keep her jaw from falling to the ground.

In front of her, easily recognisable despite the fact they had never seen her, stood princess Staria.

Or at least, it had to be her.

 _How the hell has she become a bat pony?!_

Her coat was still the same shade of midnight blue as the painting portrayed, back in the castle, but her mane and tail were…different. Still pitch black, but there was a silver lining on the edges, and it was…jagged. Twisted. But it actually didn't look bad. Her eyes hadn't changed colour, but the pupil was distorted and almond-shaped instead of round –and she noticed at the same time the bat ponies all had this very peculiar pupil shape. Probably to see better in the dark. Then she had the same bat-like wings as everypony else. Nothing in her appearance could explain how she had turned into a bat pony.

And if she was a regular pony in the beginning…did it mean they all were? Had they been changed to what she had in front of her? But how?

"Twilight Sparkle." Staria hummed, thoughtful. "I figured we would eventually meet, though not in these circumstances, I must admit," She tilted her head towards her general, an eyebrow raised. "Care to explain yourself, Starseeker? Why are they tied up?"

"My Queen," he started respectfully, looking up at her. "They captured two of our people and prevented us from getting what we needed. I thought-"

"That they were a threat," the alicorn finished for him, shaking her head. "I know you take our safety to heart –and you have my gratitude for it- but you must remember that acting without knowing is usually not the best course of action." Her horn briefly lit up, and the bindings fell away, freeing the mane six. They stood up hesitantly, under the General's fuming eyes.

"I apologize," the alicorn said, gazing at Twilight with a polite nod. "This would have gone a lot smoother if I had been there in the beginning. Now, as it stands," and there she raised her head to address the bat ponies behind her, "Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are no threat to us. Please treat them as our guests. Gleaming Stream?"

"Yes, my Queen?"

"Please find them a place to rest and bring out refreshments. They must need it after their ordeal." Twilight's mouth chose that moment to start working again.

"Actually, princess-" She did not miss the way the older alicorn flinched at the title, but she interrupted her before she could voice any of her questions.

"Unfortunately, I have duties to attend to," she turned away. "Feel free to explore and ask questions."

She was gone before they could protest, and the blue-maned mare –Gleaming Stream- ushered them out of the cavern towards a smaller one, where pillows and blankets rested, along with a small table, a plush carpet, drapes and several flowers and paintings as decorations to hide the rocky walls.

They were finally left to their own devices after being promised refreshments would come and Rainbow Dash was the first to open her mouth.

"Well, this is totally not what I had expected."

XxxX

Review~


	10. An Odd Breakfast

The Lost Path 10

Woops, just noticed I forgot to post this chapter. Sorry!

Be prepared, for Staria has changed a lot since she left!

One note though: some of you seem confused as to Staria's appearance/state/powers and all. She is a bat pony Alicorn, which basically means she has bat wings and has kept her horn and magic too, whereas the bat ponies can't use magic (as none of them are bat unicorns; they're all bat Pegasus, and it will be explained later). She is as tall as Celestia but isn't as skinny, and her coat is a dark blue (almost same shade as Twilight's father, whose name I can't remember) and she has a black, flowing mane, but closer to Luna's than Celestia's, in the sense that it has a silver lining (is that how you say it?) and flows behind her instead of in front of her, like her sisters. Back in the past she used to wear a silver crown, breastplate and shoes, but has since discarded them all, and I'll let you guess as why.

If you want to see pictures, you can either check the story on Quotev (same name and all) or on my Deviantart account (Hilseo), though I have yet to post pictures of Staria as she is now.

Enjoy~

XxxX

 _She can use magic. She can help them, even if it's just a little bit._

 _It's easier for her to bear the sun. So she goes out and get them roots and everything she can find. It is not much, but it's more than they're used to, and they're grateful._

 _She knows it's not enough._

" _In my mind's eye, I spy…something brown!"_

 _So she watches after the foals, allowing their parents to work without worrying for them. When she sees siblings caring for each other, it reminds her of her sisters, before they became alicorns._

 _It stings, badly, but she welcomes the pain. She's been numb for far too long already._

 _The days where it is too hot, they all sleep next to the walls where it is cooler. The 'beds' are ragged pieces of wool, worn out by time and torn apart by the rocks' jagged edges. Not a single one of them looks new, and another feeling awakens within her – curiosity._

" _Firefly?" He yawned._

" _Yeah?"_

" _Where do the mats come from? They look so old…"_

" _Oh, the Saviour brought them to us. I've never seen her, but the others say she's very pretty."_

" _The Saviour?"_

" _She saved us…zzzz…."_

 _He is asleep, and she can't ask more questions, but she is not satisfied._

 _Who is this Saviour?_

XxxX

"Sooo…what do we do now?"

They remained in the cave Gleaming Stream had led them too, wondering about their current situation. They'd gone from investigators to prisoners to…guests? It didn't exactly feel like it, if the mistrust and suspicious glances they kept getting every time they stepped out of their 'room' were any indication. Applejack shrugged.

"We've foun' Princess Staria. Perhaps we shoul' try to find out what happened to her? She did say we were her guests…"

"Come on, you've all heard the way she said it!" Dash argued, wings fluttering in frustration. "She said 'guests' like you say 'parasites'!"

"I think you're a bit exaggerating, Dash," Twilight interrupted, frowning. "But it does feel as though she doesn't exactly want us here. She dismissed us pretty quickly."

"All the more reasons to ask questions," Applejack said. "We've done nothing wrong. And we're the Princesses' messengers! She can't just send us on our way without telling us anything, or at least answering a few questions."

"Actually, I am pretty certain she can, darling," Rarity said, shaking her head. "The bat ponies called her _Queen_ Staria. She's the sole, unchallenged ruler of this small place."

"Yeah, what's with this title?" Dash huffed. "Why Queen? She's a princess, like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, right?"

"There's probably more to it than we see," Twilight eventually guessed. "We'll ask her as soon as we can."

As soon as they could turned out to be several hours later, much later than they expected. At noon, they wondered why nopony had actually come to fetch them; Dash risked a hoof outside until she stumbled upon a guard –or an insomniac? It was hard to tell- who kindly informed her that they actually slept during the day to wake at sunset, living during the night when the temperature was much more bearable. Once they were made aware of this simple fact, they all decided to catch up on their sleep –since it had been brutally disturbed by their capture earlier. A wise choice, for when Gleaming Stream came to tell them breakfast –dinner- was ready, and that they would be eating with the Queen, they were a lot more awake and their minds sharper, ready to take on any challenge the Queen would throw at them.

They were lead outside the cave and had to climb a bit to reach the Queen's floor, designed exactly like a palace wing. They entered a long tunnel decorated with flowers and beautiful carpets, passing a few doors on each side, until they entered another, bigger cave than the one they resided in, where a few ponies were already sitting around an elegant, wooden table. They recognised the General, Starseeker, sitting next to the biggest chair around the table, and more richly decorated too; it had to be the Queen's chair. Easy to recognise. They recognised one or two faces more, but the others were a mystery. Twilight and the others settled in the free seats, waiting for the Queen, but as soon as they did, the whispers and small talks turned to them, and they quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the questioning.

"Why did you come to us, exactly?"

"We were trying to find Princess Sta-"

"How can you live during the day?"

"It is not so-"

"How come you're an alicorn? You're not related to the Queen!"

"It doesn't work that w-"

"You don't look as impressive as the Queen."

"Now wait a m-"

Twilight was interrupted as the great curtains in the back of the cave, which she hadn't noticed, were moved aside to let the Queen through. Immediately, ever pony around the table turned to her, a 'good morning Queen Staria' on their lips. The Queen smiled in turn at everypony, politely enquiring about their sleep and sitting in her chair, Starseeker closely watching for any threat beside her. The Queen's arrival also signalled the beginning of breakfast, as other ponies came out of the various entrances –that none of the mane six had noticed either, as they were artfully hidden among the rocks- bringing plates of various fruits, pancakes, and hay. Pinkie Pie immediately dug in, gushing about the smell and taste and enthusiastically speaking with her neighbours. Twilight watched on with a small frown, figuring Pinkie had all but forgotten what they were supposed to do, and this would not help their quest. A chuckle from her right drew her attention away, and she found herself meeting the Queen's amused eyes.

"I see your friend knows how to enjoy breakfast," she looked relaxed, and open. Twilight figured this was her chance to ease her way in.

"Well, it's more dinner for us, it was a surprise to discover you actually live at night." _Because we basically don't know a thing about you, so it would be nice if you could tell us more,_ she added mentally. But instead of an explanation or anything of the likes, the older alicorn only shrugged.

"I figured you would have guessed –seeing as we are _bat_ ponies," she replied easily, and Twilight was taken aback. There had been a subtle sneer in her voice, but the young mare pushed back her sudden unease. Surely she'd imagined it? Why would princess Staria be scornful to them? She was Celestia and Luna's sister. She was bound to closely resemble them character-wise, right? And they certainly hadn't depicted her as high and mighty.

"Well, we did not exactly stop to ponder the question –honestly, I expected you to be just like the princesses." Something flashed in Staria's eyes then, but it was gone too fast for her to identify what it had been.

"I see why my sister picked you as her apprentice," she eventually said, after a beat of silence. In any other creature's mouth, Twilight would have taken that as a compliment. In Staria's tone, however…she was pretty sure it was the opposite, call it a gut feeling or whatever. But it made no sense. Why would she find it a flaw?

"Speaking of your sister," she began carefully, trying to focus on her questions, "Princess Celestia actually sent us to find you, because she's really-"

"Oh?" If she'd thought she was scornful before, now she was downright haughty. "My sister wishes to see me, after a thousand years? Well then," and there the older alicorn paused for better effect, "why hasn't she come herself? Is she too busy sitting all day on her golden throne?"

Twilight immediately felt a surge of irritation at the insult to her teacher. She was quick to defend her.

"She's not sitting all day! Princess Celestia has duties she just cannot-"

Princess Staria stood up abruptly, and the whole room fell silent. A quick glance to her plate told Twilight the Alicorn hadn't even finished eating. Princess Staria turned her back on the other ponies, and only Twilight heard her as she departed from the room, head held high and eyes unreadable.

"Duty before Family...I see my sister hasn't changed a bit."

The curtains at the entrance gently closed behind her, and the young alicorn suddenly became aware of strong glares sent her way, by everypony at the table. None of them said a thing, but they all eventually stood and left shortly after their Queen, not saying another word to the young alicorn -and all too soon, the six friends were left alone in the dining room, with the exception of a few ponies who started cleaning the table. Dash huffed in exasperation.

"Well, way to make progress." She hovered over the others, munching on a muffin she'd saved from her plate. "What the hell did you do to make her so mad?"

"I didn't do anything," Twilight protested with a frown. "She pretty much insulted both Princess Celestia and me- and then just up and left when I mentioned Celestia was looking for her, but couldn't come herself." She paused, thoughtful. "Girls, I think she actually hates Princess Celestia."

"How is that even possible?" Fluttershy asked, eyes wide. "they're sisters!"

"Don't forget Princess Luna resented Princess Celestia for the longest time," Applejack said. "Perhaps we don' know everything."

"But Celestia would have told us if there was anything else to know," Twilight argued, trusting her mentor's words. "She never mentioned any bad blood between her and her sister. Princess Staria was depressed, yes, but not mad at Celestia."

"It was a thousand years ago, darling," Rarity remarked. "A lot could have happened in the meantime."

"All the more reason to keep questioning her!" Dash exclaimed. "We have a right to know what the hell's going on!"

"But she isn't exactly open about it."

"You can say she's even more tight-lipped than Gummy!" Pinkie sang. Twilight shrugged.

"Then we ask the bat ponies themselves. They are bound to know something."

"Yeah, but what if-"

"Excuse me, Twilight Sparkle?"

They turned around and came face to face with the mare from earlier -Gleaming Stream. She smiled at them.

"I was assigned to be your guide during your stay with us. I will show you around the cave and answer any question you might have about us."

"Awesome!" Dash said, immediately getting in Gleam's personal space. "Then what the hell's the problem with your ruler? She's completely-"

"Dash," Applejack warned. "You shouldn' insult your host, you know."

Before the Pegasus could reply, the bat pony cut her off.

"Queen Staria is older than any of us. She knows things we can't even imagine, she's seen things we can never understand." Her eyes were hard, staring down at Rainbow Dash until the Pegasus actually unconsciously landed. "Can you really pretend that with how little you've done with your life, how little you've actually lived -you can judge and condemn her? You don't even know half of what there is to know about her."

Rainbow Dash looked properly chastised, for once, and when she saw her words had had the desired effect, Gleaming Stream's tone eventually softened.

"I'll give you this advice, that our Queen often says. There are three sides to everything: yours, theirs, and the truth. Don't judge until you know all three."

Twilight had already heard this peculiar advice before, and she reluctantly nodded. They only knew what Celestia had told them; Gleam was right, they couldn't judge until they knew what Staria had to say about it. Which would be easier to know if she actually answered the questions...

...which they hadn't had an opportunity to ask yet. Twilight made a mental note to be more direct the next time she'd speak with Staria.

"If you'll follow me, please," Gleaming Stream gestured at the entrance, "we'll start at the beginning of our story, in the Great hall."

She led them in the middle of the cavern, in the greatest space where the main entrance was. Whereas before, it had been empty and void of life due to the hour -now, they could see many a foal playing around on wooden structures, exactly like a school playground. Other ponies were obviously running shops, in the middle, while others in the back seemed to be preparing to deal with the fields, outside in the back. The very structure of the cavern was puzzling -they had never seen anything quite like it. Twilight hoped Gleaming Stream would shed some light on most of their enquiries.

XxxX

And review, as always~


	11. Where to Start

The Lost Path 11

Hello again,

Here, an explanation about the bat ponies' way of life, and a glimpse of Staria's thoughts.

To Cookies: Wow, thanks for the long review! I'll try to answer the best I can. First, how she became a bat pony: I can only say you're not completely wrong, but not completely right either. The spell she used to get rid of her wings will be explained in a few chapters, you'll just have to wait a bit longer. As for the 'Saviour' this chapter explains it. Spot on!

About the bat ponies not having unicorn magic, it's simply because there are no unicorn bat ponies. Earth Ponies are said in the show to be the most resistant and strongest; as such, sadly, they were the only ones to survive in the harsh desert in the cave. When Staria meets them, they are only earth ponies, who later gained bat wings. How? It's going to be explained in the last chapters, sorry!

As for Staria being more dangerous and the mane six should be wary, here they are making the mistake of assuming she is like Celestia and Luna -reasonable, regal, wise and all. Which she is not. Staria still has a lot of demons to face, and Twilight doesn't quite realise that. Hope I have answered enough, and thank you again.

Enjoy~

XxxX

 _She gets her answer soon afterwards._

" _Our parents were orphans left alone in the war's wake. Princess Luna took them here, where they lead a better life. She provided for them for some time, but her visits became scarce over the years, and eventually she stopped coming. Without her support, this small colony started to wither away. And the day will soon come where there is nopony left." Firefly's mother, Shimmering Sand, explains._

 _She feels responsible. So Luna founded a colony in secret, but was unable to get them to survive on their own. In a few years…they would all be gone. Most don't even know what a sheep is. They've never been outside of these sandy peaks._

 _She tries to teach them, but what's the point? No sheep could live here. They need stronger plants who can withstand the heat, and better beds. They will never survive like this._

 _She thinks. She knows she has the means to improve their lives, if she tries hard enough._

 _But where to start?_

" _You look so sad when you do that."_

 _She starts. She did not hear him sit next to her, on a tall, rocky platform she's selected as her thinking place. From there, she can see the whole cavern and the ponies wandering around. She doesn't even know how Firefly managed to reach her._

" _When I do what?"_

" _When you sit here, looking at us from above, but not really. It feels like you want to do something, but can't."_

 _Firefly really was one of a kind. With a dark brown coat and a yellow and black mane, he stood out like a sore thumb among the others, who had all rather bright colours._

 _He was also the most perceptive of them and had stuck to her side like glue ever since she arrived. She doesn't really want to answer._

" _I can't help the way I look." She hopes it will be enough for him. She is wrong._

" _Your eyes look sad. Moms says they're the window of the soul."_

 _She stares. Because suddenly, it doesn't feel like she's talking to a foal. But indeed, she is._

" _And she also says that talking about it helps." She swallows hard. He is hitting too close to home than she likes. She tries to deter him._

" _I'm pretty sure you have better things to do than staying here, Firefly."_

" _No."_

"… _?"_

" _If I can help a pony, then there is no better thing I could be doing."_

 _She falls silent under his quiet stare. Such wisdom, at such a young age…_

 _Had her sisters and her had even half of the wisdom he's displaying, they wouldn't have fallen so low._

 _It is both sobering and disheartening to know._

" _I have a problem to solve," she eventually says. "But I don't know how."_

" _My mom says 'when you're stuck on a problem, start at the beginning' and it usually works."_

" _The thing is, I don't know where to start." He shrugs._

" _Then pick a beginning, if there isn't one."_

" _I can't just 'pick' a beginning, Firefly."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Because-"_

 _Why, indeed? One step at a time. One big problem is often a mix of several smaller ones: Solve them one by one and you'll eventually solve the big one. It is so easy, a lesson she knows she should have known, and yet it is a foal who teaches it to her. She suddenly realises she has many things to learn here, and apparently humility is one of them. She doesn't quite smile, but she looks at him._

" _You know what? I think I have the beginning." Firefly's grin is small, but definitely happy. And it is enough._

 _Hope._

 _She is finally going somewhere._

XxxX

The whole cavern was smaller than ponyville, but it was still pretty large. In the middle, there were the playgrounds for the foals and the shops, along with spaces to store the fruits and hay they grew. In the back, Twilight spied fences with small animals -sheeps, she thought, except they were smaller and had less wool.

"This kind is native to the desert," Gleaming Stream, their guide, explains. "They're always shedding their fur -so it doesn't grow as thick as regular sheeps' do."

There were other animals too -rabbits, chickens, goats and such. The alicorn could also see what looked like workplaces, as some ponies were sewing two pieces of cloth together, others were knitting or cutting plants, painting and sculpting. No space was lost, and Twilight was impressed by the efficiency, furiously scribbling notes down on her notebook. The back of the cavern appeared to be dedicated to resources, while the front was for the foals and the middle for shopping -which was strange, because apparently, they all ate together.

"There are different roles to take. Some cook, others take care of the fields and animals or work with their hooves. The strongest go out to trade with other villages. We're usually taking turns so nopony feels slighted or gets bored."

In the morning (which was actually sunset), the Queen took her breakfast with some of her ponies, either those she chose or those who wished to. The next meal she took it with everypony, at the great table in a hole on the left side they had yet to see, whereas she took her last meal alone in her chambers, or with her council. The schedule allowed her to basically see everypony, to be close and known to them. This way, nopony felt left out -for anypony could ask to see the Queen at any moment's notice. She'd yet to refuse anypony, and Twilight wished she'd give her her secret. She knew for a fact Celestia was always being swallowed in her paperwork -and lately she had been as well, before their journey. It seemed princess Staria had resorted to delegating; she had a whole team behind her, supervising every aspect of their daily lives. One for the food, one for the fields, the animals, the school (because, foals needed to be educated, and they had a whole cave dedicated to that), the trades, the workplaces, and basically everything else, with General Starseeker at the top, overseeing everything. A small part of Twilight scathingly remarked princess Staria did not appear to do anything at all -but she was quick to silence it. She didn't know enough.

Besides, she'd apparently designed the whole cave herself.

The ground floor, on each side, was made of caves such as the school, the dining room (bigger than the one this morning, where everypony ate together), the first kitchen, the storage, the laundry room (which they also did together -granted there were fewer ponies than in ponyville, but still), the baths (apparently, they still had private bathrooms in their respective homes -but could basically wash there too) and the library (it was huge. Bigger than Canterlott's). On the first and second floors, each cave was somepony's home, just as the third floor's left side, while the right side was Staria's quarters and the smaller dining room, kitchen, and council. It was obvious there was more, especially on the third floor, but Gleam had quickly ushered them away as they'd passed a peculiar hallway -filled with paintings. She had refused to answer any of their questions about this place, and had led them to a slightly smaller cave, which appeared to be a relaxing room of sorts. There were several comfy chairs, a few books, small tables and games of all sorts. They settled in their chairs, and Gleam offered them some tea.

"Well, I think you've seen most of the cavern," Dash snorted in the background, but she ignored her. "Now, if you have questions, you can ask them." Twilight jumped on the occasion.

"How exactly did you come to live here?"

Gleam gave her a wry smile. Twilight had the sudden, distinct feeling she wouldn't hear what she wanted to know

XxxX

 _I should not have said that._

It is the first thought that runs through Staria's head as she exits the dining room. It surprises her that she's angry, both at herself and at Twilight Sparkle, she can't help it. She's had years to think about it, years to try and sort the mess that is her feelings towards her sisters, years to come to terms with it, and she had made peace with her past. At least, she thought she had. Yet the first thing she does when she has contact, somewhat indirectly, with Celestia -or someone close to her, rather-, is snapping at them and being scornful. Really, it seems she hasn't progressed at a-

"I have seen you at your best and at your absolute worst, but this...is something I've never quite seen before."

She sighed. She should've known Starseeker would not let her attitude slide and do nothing. It wasn't in his nature.

And it was part of the reason why she allowed him to get so close, after all.

"I have no sympathy for strangers and you know it," he went on, stepping closer to her -but keeping a respectful distance away. Although he was her General, her most trustworthy advisor, even he did not cross her boundaries. "But she did nothing to deserve your hostility."

"I know." Staria looked up to the sky, eyes far away. "She reminds me of Celestia, back in our youth. That is all." And yet, she knew it wasn't the sole reason. Her chest would not have ached this way if it was…she would not have felt the need to leave before she started to cry. Discussing her sisters did not bring tears to her eyes quite like…

"Then you should know scaring her away will not work." Starseeker deadpanned, annoyed, and pulling her out of her thoughts. She snorted.

"Obviously. The more I'll try to push her away, the faster she'll come back."

"Then why do it at all?" There was no accusation in his tone, and for that, she was grateful. "It would be better to plainly tell her she is not wanted here and send her away. Her presence, who she is…it threatens us all." She knew he was right, but she did not want to accept it. Having Celestia's pupil here meant word would go back to her sister, sooner or later. What would Celestia do once she found out…everything? But she was curious, too. Curious about this new alicorn. So young…but so naïve, too. She wanted to say everything would be alright, but she did not want to lie.

She'd done it too many times in her life already. She sighed.

"If we send her back now, who knows what she might tell Celestia. If her mission is truly to bring me to Canterlot…Then I need to convince her I do not wish to come back. Besides…" she paused, sitting down at her desk and sorting through a few papers. "We're already judging her for being Celestia's pupil. We should wait and see." She was not really convinced, but the General could sense she would not be swayed.

He came to stand in front of her desk, and she rose to pick a book behind her on the shelf -turning her back to him. She hated that after a thousand years, Celestia was still a sore subject for her. She should have gotten over it ages ago. It was in the past. It was over.

Except said buried past had just crossed her threshold almost a day ago...

Staria shook her head as she sat back on her chair. Starseeker still hadn't said a word, and she knew why. She closed her book.

"I can see it clearly, Starseeker," she said, eyes lost somewhere on the rocky wall of her office. "She comes here believing I feel guilty for what happened all those years ago. She believes I exiled myself and need Celestia's pardon to come to Canterlot, and live as we used to a thousand years ago -as though nothing happened." She finishes her sentence in a quiet tone, more to herself than to him. But he is not blind to the anger buried deep beneath those words. He's heard them too many times already. Staria seemed to snap out of her thoughts, and she turned to face him once more.

"She worships Celestia, it is plain to see. But somepony needs to open her eyes to the truth...It has to be me. I have the feeling nopony else will."

"At what cost?"

The concern in his tone surprised her. It did not belong here in his voice, but rather in…it seemed it always made an appearance when she least expected it.

Starseeker deeply respected her -and not because she was his Queen or because of her age or alicorn status, but because of what she had done for his people, and throughout the years, he had grown to become the one she trusted above all. He had a sharp mind and a keen eye, but compassion and concern were two things she definitely did not expect from him.

"My duty is to my people -my family- first and foremost." He said, solemn. "I can tell this is going to turn into one big mess, and I don't like it. Whatever you do, please be careful."

Starseeker nodded at her and prepared to leave. Indirectly, he'd told her he agreed with her. He didn't like Twilight because he felt her presence threatened them -but until he was certain of it, he would respect his Queen's wishes and wouldn't put her in the 'enemy' box. And if it turned out they were both wrong, he'd welcome her. Staria quickly realised she was being a hypocrite -she was blaming Twilight just for being on Celestia's side. For somepony who said 'don't judge until you know', she was doing a terrible job of following her own advice.

"Starseeker."

He paused and glanced at her. She smiled serenely.

"Thank you. For always supporting me, no matter what." It was his turn to smile, and she treasured the sight. She had missed that smile. So much.

"Always, your Highness."

The curtains fell shut behind him, and Staria decided she'd try to speak with Twilight later in the night.

XxxX

Review~


	12. Explanations and Untold truths

The Lost Path 12

Hey there,

Not the second confrontation between Staria and Twilight, but a bit of why the bat ponies are so fiercely loyal to their Queen. And more questions as to what Staria's been doing all this time.

Note: When I started writing this, I did not intent to do some Twilight bashing, but that's pretty much what's happening so far. Woops. Perhaps it's because she gets on my nerves. Like in the episode where the Crystal Empire comes back and is threatened and all she can think about is her exam. Come on, Twilight, there's a whole KINGDOM under threat of slavery, and you still focus on your exam? Nope, I don't get it. Even if Celestia is also to blame for this.

Sorry about that.

Sooo…enjoy~

And thanks again for the reviews! I'm starting to get worried about disappointing you, though. Hope I don't with what I have planned.

XxxX

" _What are they, exactly?"_

" _I've been exploring the area, and I've found these. The back of the cavern opens on a closed space, surrounded by cliffs and protected from the wind. I am fairly certain you can grow these berries back there."_

" _They survived the heat?"_

" _Apparently. It's not much, but it will definitely be an improvement. I have about ten different plants, so maybe we could-"_

" _Thank you. Thank you so much."_

 _She cannot answer, so she just smiles._

 _The entrance to the cavern is actually opened, only blocked by a rug they use to prevent the dry wind from heating up the cavern. The back is the same, except it opens on a small ravine, where the sun isn't quite as harsh and the wind can't reach it. It is the perfect place to attempt to grow something, as it is just slightly hotter than the cavern itself._

 _She takes care of ploughing the field, and she will keep watch -they're no farmers. The berries couldn't be allowed to die. Soon, she hopes, they will have something more to eat than dry roots and meagre nuts._

 _A baby step, but a step nonetheless._

 _And when she listens to Firefly animatedly talking about how he can't wait to taste the berries, she knows she steps on the right path._

 _XxxX_

"Our ancestors were first brought here by Princess Luna, after the war with Discord."

Gleaming Stream talked at length about their history, and the mane six eagerly soaked up every word she said -though they could tell she was either purposefully leaving out some details, or she didn't know them. Did Luna take their ancestors because they were bat ponies? It seemed so, and Twilight couldn't exactly find another explanation, but then how come there was no recording of them? Bat ponies should have been mentioned at least a handful of times -and neither of the princesses had ever spoken of them. Something was fishy, but Gleaming Stream was avoiding the question.

"Of course we've always been bat ponies. What else could we have been? In the beginning, when we started to live in the cavern..."

She told them of the harsh, terrible beginnings as though she'd lived them, but she hadn't. She spoke of the heat and the dryness, which had basically been killing them all one by one, because they had been ill-fitted for such a climate. Luna had been their only hope, the only one to ensure their survival -and at first, the life they had led here had been better than the one they had left behind. Luna's enchantments prevented the heat from drying everything, and filtered the sun's harsh rays. She brought them food, comfort, and anything and everything they needed. What the princess did not have, she conjured. It was easy, and they felt at peace. Somepony finally paid attention to them. They were important. They were not left to die in the streets. Somepony cared.

"But then...Nightmare Moon happened."

The mane six were surprised, because her voice held no fear, unlike everypony else. All they could hear was sadness and resignation, perhaps some regret too. She did not fear Nightmare Moon, as she explained afterwards. They had learned to prefer the night to the day, to worship Luna instead of Celestia -but the alicorn had begun to change. She spent less time with them, and she was always in a foul mood. Nothing seemed to calm her down, and her visits grew fewer and farther in between until she stopped coming altogether, due to her exile. They had realised she had not exactly cared for them, but for the power it gave her. The blow had been hard, especially since, without Luna, they had little to no hope of survival. But by the time they had realised she wouldn't come back, they were already too weakened by the lack of real food and the heat. The spells had flickered off; leaving them vulnerable. For the next few years, they had survived on whatever they could find, preciously taking care of whatever furniture they still had. But the unforgiving conditions made it impossible to survive, and their numbers began to dwindle with the years. Crossing the desert was suicide; staying was suicide. They were stuck, left to die -just as they had been when Luna had taken them in the first place. Back at the starting line.

"That's when Queen Staria stumbled upon us."

Her voice held nothing but pure adoration and gratefulness. The story she told them had been passed on for generation, nopony of that time still around after a thousand years, but the feelings had been passed on as well. She told them how she used her magic to strengthen the plants, to find and grow species resistant to the heat. She told them how they were starving before she came in, and how in barely two years, they were well on their way to being a true village, who could survive on its own.

She explained how they started trading with other villages, and how everything went for the best, until-

"Until...they decided we weren't trustworthy, and stopped trading with us."

There was a lie in there somewhere, Twilight was certain. But she could not find where.

At this point, Dash had fallen asleep on her chair and Pinkie started playing with a moth she'd found in a book. Only Twilight listened avidly, hearing how Staria carved the cavern with her magic -and the magical prowess made her even warier, because while she knew Celestia to be powerful, she'd never quite demonstrated just what she could do with her magic. It made her wonder exactly how powerful her teacher actually was -because there was no way princess Staria was stronger than her, since she was younger, and wasn't the ruler of Equestria. But she didn't dwell on the thought.

When Gleaming Stream finished, Twilight realised they had actually been unaffected by the wars Equestria had gone through -princess Staria had apparently just decided to sit back and watch it happen. The thought infuriated her.

"She basically left Equestria to the wolves!"

"But it was saved, each and every time," Gleam answered patiently, crossing her hooves. "By you and your friends, I believe."

"But what if we hadn't been there?" Twilight pressed, almost accusing. "She wouldn't have interfered!"

"You don't know that," the bat pony frowned. "She only seeks to protect her ponies."

"So she doesn't care about Equestria."

"She does."

"It certainly doesn't show."

Twilight almost didn't recognise herself. She was never one to get angry, or accusing like that, but...

How come princess Staria could badmouth Celestia, but she could not badmouth her? Especially since, apparently, princess Staria had more to account for than Celestia did.

She'd never watched Equestria fall and did nothing! And there were no excuses for princess Staria's attitude. At least next time she was scathing or haughty, she'd know what to answer...

Twilight had always been fiercely loyal and protective of her mentor. She would not stand for anypony to disrespect her again. She would-

The purple alicorn took a deep breath. _Okay, calm down. You're here to try to take princess Staria back to Canterlot -not to antagonize her or start a conflict. Just stick to your questions._ Having calmed down, Twilight dropped the subject, and almost missed Fluttershy's question.

"Um, do you happen to know why Princess Staria seems to be...at odds with Princess Celestia? Earlier during breakfast, she seemed...angry, when we mentioned her." She could've kissed Fluttershy. It was one of the things they wanted to know, but if Twilight had asked, she was pretty sure it would not have been well-received. Except, the question only made Gleaming Stream frown even deeper.

" _Queen_ Staria does not speak much of her past," she said, emphasizing the _Queen_. "But we know that Celestia wronged her, somewhat."

" _Princess_ Celestia didn't tell me anything about it, except that she apologised for being too caught up in her duties." Twilight spoke this time, emphasizing the _Princess_. And speaking of which... "And why do you call her Queen Staria? She's a princess, not a Queen."

"To you, maybe," Gleaming Stream retorted, "but she's our Queen, and we answer to her, not to Celestia."

This time, there were several gasps among her friends, so she let them answer instead of her.

"But how can you?" Applejack asked, puzzled. "Princess Celestia's the ruler of Equestria."

"She's not our ruler," she insisted stubbornly. "Our loyalty goes to Queen Staria and only her -not to another alicorn we've never seen, and who hasn't done anything for us."

"Wha-? Princess Celestia has done everything for you! She's the reason Equestria is Equestria: united, peaceful, and safe."

"No," Gleam said firmly. "To our ancestors, it was neither peaceful nor safe. If we are now, it is only thanks to our Queen and nopony else."

They exchanged several other arguments, but Gleaming Stream appeared to be completely closed to the debate, so they eventually dropped the matter, as the bell for lunch rang. Fluttershy suggested they eat among themselves this time, and Gleam did not wait to agree. She directed them back to their room, promising she'd send somepony with their food soon. As soon as she was gone, the silence was broken by Dash's outburst.

"I can't believe her! What kind of pony would refuse to recognise Princess Celestia?!"

"Well, Princess Staria did make their lives comfortable and happier," Rarity said. "And since they have never stepped a hoof in Canterlot, they don't know what they're missing."

"Maybe she forbids them from leaving the cavern," Twilight frowned. "Maybe that's why they reject Celestia and all -because they can't do anything else."

"Uh, Twi? I get it that you don' like it when somepony insults Princess Celestia, but that's going a bit far, don' ya think?"

"No," the alicorn replied, determined. "Don't you see? By calling herself Queen, and refusing to defer to Celestia, she's basically challenging her claim as Equestria's ruler." The others gasped.

"But isn't she a ruler of Equestria herself, technically?" Rarity asked, puzzled. "Since she is Princess Celestia's sister, and an alicorn?"

"She renounced her rights when she left Celestia alone when she needed her most," Twilight replied, frown deepening. "She's nothing like Princess Celestia. Our Princess is wise and fair, but princess Staria is just...selfish and arrogant." She started pacing around agitatedly. "Maybe it would be better if she stayed here and didn't come back to Canterlot. Princess Celestia would be devastated by her attitude."

"Exactly, Twilight," Applejack stopped her. "Don' ya find it strange how different she is? Celestia described her as peaceful, wise, and with a tendency to fade in the background. It doesn't match with what we've seen of her so far."

"Ponies change in a thousand years," Rainbow deadpanned. Applejack scowled at her.

"What I mean is, we shoul' still try to ask her what her problem is with Celestia. Get to the bottom of this whole mess."

"You're right," Twilight reluctantly agreed. "And I'll ask her how the bat ponies came to be at the same time."

"Uhhh...what?"

"The bat ponies," the alicorn repeated, shaking her head. "They're not mentioned anywhere. I want to know from where they came from...or how they _became_ bat ponies." A stunned silence followed her words.

"Twilight, you mean you believe...that princess Staria turned regular ponies into bat ponies? That's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" She asked, getting in Dash's face. "It is entirely possible. Risky and forbidden, but possible. And how else would it have happened? The ponies Luna initially took were definitely regular ponies, not bat ones. Staria used her magic on them at some point, I'd bet my horn on it."

"I can't believe an alicorn would do that," Rarity protested. "They're supposed to protect the ponies, not...transform them into something else."

"We'll know when we ask her," Applejack answered, as the curtains were moved aside by a pony bringing their food. "Until then, no more pointless speculations."

They settled down to eat, after asking the pony who came in -Moonbreeze- for a meeting with the Queen. They had no idea if she would even agree to see them after the stunt she pulled this morning, but they had to try. Twilight refused to leave until she knew everything there was to know -and she had a feeling something terrible, that she could not even imagine, was hidden deep in the bat ponies' history.

She couldn't have known she was right -just not in the way she thought.

XxxX

 _The first harvest is a success, as are the many that follows._

 _They throw a party to celebrate. There's more food than any of them has ever seen, and they dance and sing until the sun is up and hours after. Firefly rounds up the foals and they gather around her to listen to the stories she tells. They cuddle together when she speaks of the dark forest that is the home of all monsters, they laugh when they hear about the dragonequeus who can turn the world upside-down -and did. They stand fascinated as she summons magical butterflies and let them fly around the cavern. They fall asleep as she recalls the tale of a courageous Pegasus who braved the wrath of a sphinx to save her people._

 _When the last of them -Firefly, what a surprise- surrenders to sleep, she joins the adults to celebrate._

 _There is a strange warmth in her belly, and she knows it is not the feeling of having eaten to her heart's content. She wants to smile and laugh though nothing is funny, but she also doesn't want the night to end. She is at ease, and she wishes this moment would never end._

 _Perhaps this is what happiness feels like._

XxxX

Review~


	13. Hiding in plain sight

The Lost Path 13

 _There are many things left to do, but it is heart-warming that she's stopped spotting ribs and gaunt cheeks left and right. They're growing stronger, thanks to the fruits and vegetables they can now grow. She experimented on a few seeds with her magic, producing stronger varieties; there aren't as many as she'd like, but it's a start, and she's proud of it._

" _What's next?"_

 _Firefly has taken to following her all day. He almost lives with her, only sleeping next to his parents during the day. They don't mind, but she doesn't quite know what to do with him._

" _Shouldn't you be playing with your friends, little light?"_

 _The nickname fits him in a way she doesn't understand, and it is not only because of his name. Firefly shrugs._

" _No. I'd rather stay with you."_

" _Why?"_

" _I can't tell you."_

" _Why not?"_

" _it's a secret. You haven't earned the right to know just yet!" His eyes are twinkling, and she finds herself smiling._

" _Very well, then. What must I do to earn the right to know?"_

" _I'll decide when you can. But in the meantime, could you teach me about these 'chips' you keep talking about?"_

" _It's sheeps. They're taller than you, and they produce what we call wool. With that, we make clothes and blankets, curtains, these sorts of things. It's, ah, very soft, and comfortable."_

" _What about trees? You said they're different than the ones we have here?"_

" _They usually have leaves. It's, um, green, and rather small. Trees are covered in leaves during most of the year, but they shed it during fall. They grow back during spring."_

" _And books?"_

 _Speaking with him for hours on end, explaining things she'd known since birth…she feels like she is back in time, telling Luna about the wonders of their world. Teaching her about the different flowers, the different kingdoms…Firefly is as eager a student as Luna had been, back then. His thirst for knowledge is deep and genuine, even if he'll never know these things she is telling him about._

 _The thought makes her frown._

 _Why shouldn't he know about them? Why should he be deprived of them? He has the right to know them, and so does everypony else. The question is, how could she bring them here? It would be easier if they could establish a trade with the closest village -four days of walking. If she could fly, it would be different -but she can't anymore. And besides, they don't have anything to trade yet. Perhaps they can try once they have more fruits and everything, but it is too early._

 _For now, she silently promises herself. Too early for now. They will know._

 _Determination blooms in her heart._

XxxX

In the end, princess Staria actually agreed to see them -and without reluctance, which was a surprise for them. Perhaps they misjudged her? Twilight was starting to get a headache from all the times she's had to rethink her opinion of the older alicorn. Maybe they would get to the bottom of it this time.

This time, it was Moonbreeze who led the way. She was a tall, thin bat pony with a deep midnight blue coat -a shade darker than Staria's- and a bright white mane. They went through the same hallway as this morning, except they didn't stop at the dining room's entrance. They continued on further, passing the same flowers and carpets until they stopped before a different cave, this one flanked by blue curtains, currently tied and leaving the cave open. The hallway went on on their left, but it was different. This time, it was decorated with portraits instead of only flowers, each lined with golden patterns and a plaque beneath. Twilight jumped on the occasion before Moonbreeze left them.

"What's further ahead?" She asked, wondering if she would actually answer. The mare took one glance at the portraits and her eyes turned misty, as though she was about to cry. She didn't look at them as she answered.

"Memory Lane."

She did not explain, nor did she say anything more. They were left alone in front of what they suspected to be princess Staria's office, and while Twilight was dying to know more about these portraits, she knew snooping in there would be ill-received -and would definitely prevent her from ever learning about it. Reluctantly leaving this new mystery behind, Twilight and her friends stepped inside Staria's office.

The room had a neatly organised desk, shelves on the walls, several chairs and flowers, plus a potted plant in the corner. Sitting in front of them, princess Staria was busily sorting through a few sheets of papers. She gestured at the empty seats.

"Please sit."

They sat at once as she offered them tea and muffins, which both Rarity and Fluttershy accepted with delight. Twilight cleared her throat to speak first, but Staria beat her to it.

"I must apologise for my behaviour this morning. We do not have many visitors, and I proved to be a terrible host."

 _That's bullshit_ , is what Twilight thought, but instead she found a polite reply to offer. At least they were on somewhat friendly terms now.

"We have many things to speak about, I believe," Staria eventually said, glancing at them serenely. She seemed a whole other pony than this morning, and some of Twilight's earlier anger abated, hoping that perhaps it was all a misunderstanding. She smiled.

"We were sent by Celestia and Luna, after we managed to narrow down your location. They both miss you terribly, and were hoping to see you again -in Canterlot."

"I see. How did you find us, exactly?" her tone betrayed nothing, neither anger or happiness or regret. Only pure indifference. Twilight tried to push it aside.

"It was rather hard, actually..."

She explained how they searched through the whole library, without success, until they found out about the legends. The older alicorn appeared surprised to see they managed to follow her tracks after all this time, but she muttered something like 'as expected of Celestia's prized student', and this time it lacked the scorn of earlier. Seeing as she appeared to be in a good mood, Twilight decided to ask her first a question that had been plaguing her since the beginning of their quest.

"One thing that quite puzzled us was, the legends each mentioned a unicorn, instead of an alicorn. Did you hide all this time? And how?"

"For every spell known to us, there is a counter spell," Staria explained, and they all listened avidly. "The spell to turn a pony into an alicorn has many conditions before it can be used -such as the worthiness of the pony- but its counterpart can only be used by an alicorn."

"Hold on," Applejack interrupted, puzzled. "You mean there actually is a spell to...undo an alicorn transformation?" Staria nodded.

"It can only be used by the one who does the spell -on themselves. I used it to make my wings disappear."

"Only to hide? It seems pretty...extreme," Twilight asked warily, but Staria only shrugged.

"I did not want to be recognized. Later on, when I met the bat ponies...I undid it."

There was definitely more that she wasn't telling, and she could tell Staria would not let them pry. But they had to know, if only they wanted to understand the whole picture. Twilight decided to play it nonchalant.

"Speaking of the bat ponies, how did they come to be? They were not always bat ponies, right? Princess Luna did not take bat ponies when she created this place, did she?" Staria only blinked at her.

"They have always been bat ponies. Gleaming Stream, Starseeker, Moonbreeze -they were born bat ponies."

"Yeah, but they're pretty young," Twilight countered, inquisitive. "What about the first you met? They were not always bat ponies, were they?" Staria blinked again, and the young alicorn began to wonder if this was not her signature for when she lied.

"Why would they have been anything else?" She asked, and her eyes narrowed down imperceptibly. "What are you implying?"

The hostility was there, and Twilight realised she would lose her opportunity to learn more about the rest if she pressed the matter. Instead of the accusations on the tip of her tongue, she said, "It is just that the books never mentioned them anywhere, so I wondered where they came from." Staria remained quiet for a short while, and Twilight knew she hadn't bought her lie.

"We are rather secretive ponies," she eventually said, and the young alicorn tensed. Her words revealed nothing, but she could almost feel the anger beneath, simmering under the surface. It wasn't good. "And our lifestyle makes it hard for us to be seen by the others."

This at least, they could agree on. They'd have probably never found them if they had not stumbled upon the last village -and speaking of which, the mayor had to be pretty distraught to see both the princess and his prisoners had disappeared. She made a mental note to see them once they left. Which brought her to her next question...

"Why do you trade in hiding? You're not even asking for the villagers' opinion…" There, Staria narrowed her eyes at them, and when she answered, her voice was laced with barely concealed loathing.

"They fear us. Every few years, I try to establish trust between them and us, but in many villages, the answer is the same: they call us monsters and refuse to even hear us out. Fortunately, the more time passes, the more they slowly open up about other species." She appeared to calm down a bit here, visibly reigning in her anger with difficulty. "We have you to thank for this, I believe." Twilight carefully guarded her face, unable to see whether the compliment had been genuine or sarcastic. She straightened in her seat.

"It is our goal," she explained, ready to start her usual speech about friendship throughout Equestria. "We try to create as many friendships as we can. And we've done a lot to-"

"I know," Staria interrupted her without a care. "We may live far away from Canterlot, but we still have ways to know what happens in the rest of the world."

Twilight was immediately reminded of their earlier argument with Gleaming Stream. So she'd indeed been aware of what was happening -Nightmare Moon, Chysalis, Sombra and the others- but hadn't bothered to interfere? Had she been right since the beginning?

"So you knew when Equestria was threatened -several times? Why didn't you help us? We could certainly have used your help." Her tone had been downright aggressive, she knew; but in all fairness, the older alicorn had started it. Princess Staria's features hardened.

"Careful, Twilight Sparkle. You do not know what you're talking about." The warning went unheeded. Twilight scowled.

"I know that you did not protect Equestria, unlike Princess Celestia. At least _she_ protected her ponies."

"Don't presume to know everything about me or my sisters, little one," Staria nearly growled, trying to control her anger. "You were not there."

"I know that you abandoned princess Celestia when she needed you the most," Twilight snapped back, blind to the coldness creeping into the room, and Staria's darkening aura. "And that you did nothing as Princess Luna fe-"

Starseeker entered the room before she could finish, and the older alicorn shook herself as she received her general's message. He backed away into the shadows once he was done, though he did not leave the room, eyes fixed on the strangers -that he still did not trust, especially after what he'd heard. He was dying to give them a piece of his mind, but a sharp glance from his Queen had him keeping his mouth shut. For now. Staria stood up and the mane six followed suit, out of respect -though Twilight was boiling inside, pretty certain Staria had not wished to answer her accusation, just as she had avoided answering about how the bat ponies appeared. They'd already guessed, so why couldn't she come forward with it? What ugly secret was she attempting to hide?

"I apologize; I need to attend to my ponies." Staria nodded at the door, dismissing them. "I'm certain we will have further opportunities to speak before you leave." Her tone clearly stated otherwise, but they couldn't call her out on it.

It was clear she didn't expect them to stay much longer, and Twilight quickly realised they couldn't actually stretch their stay for however long they wished, seeing as they held no power over her. If Twilight were to order the bat ponies to let them stay -which she did not want to do- she was pretty sure nopony would take it well.

Twilight scowled as the curtains fell shut behind her. Somepony was already escorting them back to their room and, lost in her thoughts, she almost missed her as she turned with her friends. It dawned on her this was the perfect opportunity to explore unseen; there was nopony in the hallway, and if she was seen, she'd just say she had gotten lost. Her friends would understand -she just knew they were hiding something!

She carefully hid in the shadows. Staria was still in the room behind her; the best place to start would be the portrait hallway, the one Moonbreeze had called 'Memory Lane'.

Time to see exactly what was in that hallway.


	14. The Truth at all cost

The Lost Path 14

Hey guys.

Sorry for the delay. My two guinea pigs died this week-end, from a stupid cold of all things. These tiny creatures are way too frail, and it's way too easy to grow extremely attached to them. Can't say I've been alright these past few days.

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Beginning of the end! Well, more like of discovering the truth. Still six chapters left.

Enjoy~

XxxX

" _They're so cute!"_

" _They're rabbits. This kind specifically lives in holes underground, to get away from the heat. They quite often loose some of their fur to fight the heat."_

" _It's very soft. Do you think we could gather the fur they lose and make pallows-pellows-mellows- out of them?"_

" _Pillows. I've already started." Staria says, and she takes out one from behind her. It is small, very small, and not quite a pillow, as she doesn't quite know how to turn_ _wool_ _fur into cloth. She just tied the bundle of fur together, and some falls out each time it is squeezed. It is not much, but it is a beginning. She's seen more than a few ponies who were quite adept with their hooves. She knows they will eventually figure it out._

" _Will we keep them? We could create more pillows for the others with their fur or trade them with other villages!"_

 _Trust Firefly to be thinking always a step ahead. So young, and so smart already. She'd briefly explained the concept of trading to him a few days prior, and already he'd gotten it, and imagined how it could help them. He'd be a true asset to them all once he was grown up; she couldn't wait to see how he would turn out._

" _Yes, that's what I'm trying to do. These rabbits struggle to find food, too; if you feed them, they will stay around, and you can gather the fallen fur."_

" _And we'll make pillows together! But it doesn't look like it will last long. See? It's already falling apart."_

" _I know. That's something the others will have to figure out on their own."_

" _Oh. Well, you've helped us a lot already, so it's okay, I think."_

 _She smiles. He never complained about anything. A part of her is saddened to think he was cheated out of his childhood because of the harsh conditions they live in. He is too mature for his age, too calm and proper, like an adult. He never had the opportunity to get in trouble, to make mischief like all foals do. But she knows the next generation will be able to._

 _At least, the wonder and fascination with the simplest things only foals have is still there. And it is further proved when, later in the day, he asks her with hopeful eyes:_

" _Will you watch the night sky with me?"_

 _The question is so familiar it hurts. But what hurts more is the facts that she can't remember the last time she actually took the time to do it._

 _She agrees as the past threatens to engulf her._

 _And long afterwards, as an exhausted Firefly falls asleep in her hooves not five minutes after he'd asked her to stay with him, she can't bring herself to regret it._

 _She knows this is what peacefulness is._

XxxX

"What happened to 'being careful'?"

Staria sighed. Trust her General to always have his nose stuck in matters that did not concern him...

"Eavesdropping now, General? So unlike you." He only snorted in reply.

"I know you decided not to judge her, but I believe we know enough. They should not stay."

Staria turned her back on him. Outside, the sun would rise soon. She still had much to do before that. The alicorn closed her eyes, and her horn lit up with a gentle blue glow. One by one, the stars started vanishing from the sky. It would take quite some time until they were all gone from above their heads, until the next time the sun set and allowed them to rise.

"I have yet to convince her I don't want to leave," _I've yet to even breach the subject,_ she mused silently. "Besides, I owed them an apology."

"You owed them nothing and you know it," Starseeker argued, frowning. "And you should have sent them on their way already, as you always do. Why are they different?" Staria opened her eyes, a far-away look in them.

"Twilight Sparkle craves knowledge. Beneath her adoration of my sister and the obliviousness it causes her, she seeks to understand the world around her in an honest desire to know -and nothing more. I can't blame her for that." Starseeker eyed her warily.

"This is dangerous, your Highness. You know they won't stop until they know...everything." Staria straightened and stared at him from the corner of her eyes. Starseeker stared back, unflinching.

"This fact is one I will never tell and you know it. I don't need some self-righteous ponies judging me for something they do not understand, and I will not stand for it."

Starseeker did not reply, electing to bow instead, but he knew. The bat ponies had always seen her as their rock, the one who could withstand everything and protect them all from the outside world. She was their protector, their Defensor. She was everything and they adored and respected her for it. Staria did not have secrets. Not to her ponies. If they wanted to go outside, then she merely warned them of the dangers they risked and made them promise to be careful. If there was a conflict, then she listened to everypony until she had a close idea of the truth. She was a Goddess in more than one pony's eye.

But the truth was so different.

Staria had weaknesses, deep weaknesses only the General knew about. She was no Goddess. She was just a mare, trying to keep them safe. She had always tried to keep everypony safe.

Her heart had always been too big for her own sake, but she had never accepted to let go. It was who she was, the pony who cared too much, who felt too much.

And now, one of the deepest wounds she had ever gotten had been brutally ripped open one more time. She could say it was healed all she wanted, Starseeker knew such wasn't the case. And it would stay this way until their unwanted guests had left.

The other alicorn had to go.

Starseeker turned away.

"I know. But they have to leave all the same," he paused, glancing back at her. She wasn't facing him. "I'll tell them to leave tomorrow."

The door closed behind him. For twenty years now, he'd helped her protect the bat ponies, their people. He'd seen more than anypony else, he had seen her at her worst and at her best...but he hated seeing her like that. Insecure, uncertain, hesitant, though it was artfully disguised beneath a mask she usually didn't need to wear. This was not who she was. She was the strong alicorn, who had found her way in life against all odds. She had forged her own path. She had created her safe haven, and had opened it for all of them. After a thousand years, how could her past's shadow still haunt her so? Would she ever stop regretting and blaming herself?

There was a noise on his left, in the hall they'd named 'Memory Lane". Starseeker did not pause before following it.

XxxX

Twilight took cautious steps forward, listening intently for anypony to be walking towards her. Not hearing anything, she walked further into the shadows, eyes carefully scanning the walls for information, but what she saw did not help her in unravelling the bat ponies' mystery -or Staria's untold secret. Anywhere she looked, she could only see portraits.

 _Cloudstrike, as kind of heart as his soul was pure._

 _Firestone, 27_ _th_ _General and fiercest protector of our ponies._

 _Dream Garden, strong and loyal to a fault._

 _Night Tune, 26_ _th_ _General and herald of Hope._

Who were these ponies? It reminded her of the great gallery back in Canterlot, where Celestia had hung the portraits of the important ponies of the kingdom -and the ones she cared about. Was it Staria's gallery? The portraits of the ponies she deemed important, or had cared about? But if it was purely sentimental, would it help her in her search? She didn't see how, but if the end of the gallery dated to back when Staria had joined the bat ponies, then perhaps it would lead to some information. It was worth a shot, and it wasn't like she had anywhere else to search.

The hall seemed to stretch on forever, losing itself in the shadows. Portraits littered the walls, side by side, and facing each other left and right. They had all been painted by a sure hoof; the details were extremely clear and precise, as if the paintings were about to come to life. Every single one of them was protected by an anti-deterioration spell, and Twilight briefly wondered who had painted them over the ages. The overall style seemed to suggest the same painter for every portrait, but she found it hard to believe, especially as she went back further in time with each portrait. Celestia had never said anything about Staria painting. But then again, her sister seemed to have a knack for hiding things.

Twillight hurried her steps, only ever glancing at the dates below the paintings. She barely read the names of ponies much older than she was, and who had walked this world long before she had. All of them were bat ponies, but she had a feeling if she got to the first painting, it would at least offer her some answers.

Either the ponies Luna had originally taken away were indeed bat ponies, or they weren't.

And if they weren't...then Staria had some serious explaining to do.

It was at the very end of the hall that she found what she was looking for.

 _Shimmering Sand, beloved friend and mother to all._

 _Silver Dust, our rock in the storm and the wisest of us._

These last two paintings –which actually were the first to be painted- represented two mares, one looking quite old, the other rather young. They both sported matching smiles, but the lines of stress and exhaustion couldn't be erased from their soft features, nor the vague traces of malnourishment. But neither of these facts were what made Twilight pause.

Silver Dust was a bat pony.

Shimmering Sand was not.

There, she had it, plain as day. As she thought, the first ponies Luna had originally taken were not bat ponies. They were regular ones, pegasus, unicorn or earth ponies alike. The bat ponies had indeed been born in this very cave, and if Staria was at the origin of it all, then she had to know how they came to be.

But if not, then why pretend they'd always been bat ponies? If she'd just met them somewhere and offered to let them live here, why not just say it? And why had every single bat pony they'd ask eluded the question? Just what the _hell_ had Staria done? Try as she might, Twilight couldn't find another explanation than the most terrible of them all. But it was forbidden! Alicorns, despite their impressive powers, had no right to interfere with nature in such a way! Why had she done this? Had she really done this, or was the truth something completely different -and she was stressing for nothing?

 _No, it's not. It would explain why she's so secretive about it. But if it's true, Celestia has to know about it. We can't allow her to do whatever she wants like that._

The young mare was about to turn around, but as she raised her head, she suddenly realised there was a door in front of her. A tall, heavy, wooden door, protected by strong spells she could sense even from here. Her curiosity and suspicions immediately skyrocketed. What else would need such protections than the proof of what she's done? Twilight didn't care anymore whether she was overstepping her rights as a guest. She had to know, for Equestria's sake. An alicorn who broke the rules was a threat to them all. Mind made up, she lit up her horn, and fired a spell to destroy the protections.

It only bounced uselessly against the wood, and Twilight scowled.

There was a spark behind her, and she blanched before whirling around.

Staria stood behind her.

She was in trouble.

XxxX

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	15. You know nothing

Chapter 15

Hey again,

Biggest Twilight bashing incoming! Yep, Staria's finally going to knock some sense in her pretty head. That was one of the hardest chapters to write, because I had to show both of their sides, thoughts, and feelings. They've been dancing around each other since they met, and it was about time they stopped holding back. Needless to say, the instant they do, there are quite a few sparks.

Any guesses as to what the Memorial holds? Why Staria's so mad about it? Or why and how did Staria turn her ponies into bat ponies? (because yes, Twilight is right about that, though it's not even half of the truth)

Has anyone noticed something peculiar about Starseeker? (It's part of the reason he's the General, why he's so close to Staria and she's at ease around him, and why there will be no StariaxStarseeker -sorry!) It'll be clearer in a few chapters.

That said, hope I don't disappoint…enjoy~

Oh, and you'll start hating me in the next chapter.

XxxX

 _A year, day for day._

 _Seeing them now, she almost can't recognise them. They have enough to eat, have some furniture such as true mats and tables, pillows, and toys. They tried their hooves at trading, and while the villagers were sceptical of them at first, they quickly warmed up to them. The fur and fruits were very welcome, and they managed to learn the art of sewing in exchange, allowing them to actually do something with the rabbits' fur. She'd given them the start, and now they had picked up on it. There is a lot of room to improve, but they are definitely better than they used to be. If she were to leave now, they'd still progress and survive._

 _But she doesn't want to leave._

 _Not when there is a tiny warmth by her side._

" _Why is the sun so harsh?"_

" _It is not always. Where I was born, it isn't as harsh."_

" _Then why is it harsh here?"_

" _Because the night is cool and clear."_

 _Speaking of cool, Firefly is shivering. She feels warm, so she scoots closer to him in order to share warmth. He glances at her gratefully._

" _So…they balance each other?"_

" _In a way, yes, they do."_

" _Then was the night harsh where you lived before?"_

 _The innocent question makes her pause. Was the night harsh, in the castle? No, it wasn't. But everypony feared the darkness, just as they fear the day, here. Strange to see how a different environment leads to different beliefs. If only they'd known it, back then…_

"… _Staria?"_

"… _No, it wasn't. But ponies are scared when they can't see."_

" _But the Moon allows us to see in the dark, right? Isn't it the same with them?"_

" _It wasn't enough. They aren't used to live in the dark."_

" _Just as we aren't used to live in the sun?"_

"… _Exactly."_

 _The duo falls into a comfortable silence, drinking in the night's quiet beauty. Firefly makes it so easy to understand. Some ponies, somewhere, always enjoy what others despise. As long as she knew it, she'd never doubt herself again._

 _She's learned so many things, here. She says she doesn't recognise her ponies, but she doesn't recognise herself, either. Where is the ghost who no longer knew how to live? She'd been swallowed up by the life around her, until it no longer existed. She does not regret it in the slightest._

" _Do you remember…" Firefly trails off, and it is unusual for him. He is not looking at her, fixing the ground with a nervous gaze. She nudges him with her nose._

" _What is it?"_

" _You asked me why I was staying with you, and I told you it was a secret…"_

 _She'd almost forgotten about it. She thought that, as long as he stayed, she didn't need to know._

" _I remember."_

" _I have a dream."_

 _She is surprised at the admission. Every foal dreams of something, the others never hid it, but she's never heard him speaking of it._

" _But I can't tell you." The smile tugs at her lips before she can stop it, and she can't stop her words from escaping her mouth, either._

" _Of course. You are the Master of Secrets, I should have known."_

" _It's not funny!"_

 _Firefly is pouting at her, cheeks puffed out and tail twitching. He ends up coughing from trying to look more impressive than he actually is, and he looks so cute she cannot help but laugh._

 _She doesn't remember the last time she laughed. But suddenly it is not important._

" _Forgive me, little light." She apologises. He calms down, though his breath is still a bit heavy._

" _I can't tell you because it won't come true if I tell anypony. I've had it for as long as I can remember, and as soon as I saw you, I knew…" he pauses, and her heart starts beating faster. She doesn't know why. His eyes meet hers, and there is so much hope, so much trust that, for a second, she sees Luna._

" _I knew that you were the only one who could make my dream come true."_

 _It takes her only a split second to vow she'd do her best to make it happen._

XxxX

"Do you even know what 'privacy' means, Twilight Sparkle? Or has my sister never bothered to teach you that?"

The two alicorns faced each other, Staria, the peace before the storm and Twilight, tense and wary like a cornered kitten. In case of a confrontation the winner was obvious, though hopefully it wouldn't come to this. But neither would back down. Twilight squared her shoulders.

"And do you even know the meaning of 'rules'? As alicorns, we can't do as we please. Something you appear to have forgotten." Staria only blinked in answer, but when she finally found her voice, it was dripping with fury.

"You're overstepping your boundaries, little one. And you dare accuse me of breaking the rules?" Twilight refused to back down just yet.

"It wouldn't bother you if it was wrong, would it? So answer this, _Princess_ Staria: exactly how did the bat ponies come to exist in the first place?" The snarl came so fast that she didn't see it coming. Twilight took an unwilling step backwards.

"Don't speak of what you don't understand, you fool. This does not concern you." Twilight frowned.

"Yes, it does. It is my duty to-"

Staria barked out a laugh. The sound was harsh and unsettling, full of loathing and contempt. It made Twilight feel ill at ease. Such a laugh should not belong in anypony's mouth.

"Your duty," Staria hissed. "Of course. As Equestria's greatest heroes, you believe you have a duty to protect it, to prevent anypony from harming the kingdom. But who made you judge of this? What makes you think you have the right to judge me and what I did, when you barely understand anything? So much arrogance..." Twilight trembled, but put on a brave front.

"I understand that you broke the rules, without any regards for-"

"Rules. Is it all you can speak about?"

Behind them, Starseeker rounded the corner and came to stand a few feet away from them, just as the rest of Twilight's friends arrived on the scene, having finally noticed Twilight's absence. But neither them nor the General's voice managed to break through their argument.

"You are nothing but a spoiled brat, Twilight Sparkle. You have never known failure. You have always been loved and cherished everywhere you went. Can you really pretend to understand how it feels to be alone, unwanted, deemed useless by the rest of society, even those who should have loved and cared for you? Do you know how it feels to be powerless, to have nothing but death and despair as your horizon? You don't and you never will, unless you accept to come off the royal throne you've put yourself upon. So you come here, high and mighty and believing you know everything, when the truth is you know _nothing_."

Staria stared hard at her, the youngest alicorn who had the galls to try and tell her right from wrong. Twilight desperately tried to hold her tears in, and she hated that. Staria's words should hold no meaning to her, but she was saying the truth. She didn't know how it felt, and she hadn't lived even half as long as Staria had. She was but a single drop of water in the ocean. Staria had lived on for centuries already.

How could she ever compare with that?

"There is nothing for you here, Twilight Sparkle. Run back to your teacher and tell her you failed. I will not go to Canterlot. My life is here and it doesn't involve my sisters anymore. This part of our lives is over…" Her voice wavered at that, and only Starseeker's sharp gaze made her realise it. The older alicorn closed her eyes.

"…And will never return."

Why did her heart twist so violently in her chest at the thought?

Why did it feel as though a part of her had suddenly died and turned to ashes, discarded to the wind?

Why did it feel like she didn't want it to happen..?

Staria violently shoved the thought aside, focusing back on the matter at hoof. She had gotten her point across, it seemed.

And yet, looking at the small pony shivering in front of her, Staria felt ashamed of herself. Every word she'd said stemmed from her fury at Twilight trying to force the memorial's doors open. She had no right to do this, true -but her own words were uncalled for. At least the loathing and spite had been. She was dangerously close to-

Staria closed her eyes. It had to be done, if she ever wanted to keep on living peacefully.

Somepony had to make her realise.

"You asked me a question before, so let me ask you one of my own," she whispered, her tone significantly softer -but no less powerful. "Are you here because you honestly wish for my sisters and I to live together again -or because you can't bear the thought of disappointing your beloved teacher?"

Twilight looked as though she'd been slapped hard. Ignoring her friends' protests, Staria turned around and left without sparing them a glance. Moonbreeze, the pony who had accompanied the mane six, gently ushered them back to their room. The sun was rising in the sky. Most of the bat ponies were already asleep.

They kept quiet the whole way, waiting until they had the privacy of their room to speak. They spent the best part of the hour trying to comfort Twilight, and assure her that Staria was wrong, that she was not the spoiled brat who did not understand. Twilight was not easily convinced, and in the end, she tearfully admitted to her friends that their mission was a failure. Staria did not wish to go to Canterlot, nor to see her sisters, as she seemed pretty angry -though they did not understand why. _A thousand years had passed already, and she still held a grief? Why? She hadn't been wronged, unlike Luna. It was rather she who had hurt Celestia by leaving, right? She'd abandoned her in her time of need. Such a sister she had been._

"No, Dash," Twilight whispered to the angry pegasus. "I did not understand in the beginning -but now, I get it. The three of them are to blame for what happened -but if Celestia had actually paid attention to them both, then none of this would have happened. And perhaps it is what p- _Queen_ Staria tried to explain tonight."

Staria was still angry at Celestia -perhaps even at Luna, too. And they could not force her to go and speak with them -to try and settle their differences. They did not have this kind of power.

With a heavy heart and the knowledge they would most likely be sent away in the morning, they all settled down to sleep. Their rest would be a fitful one.

The General, for his part, struggled to keep up with Staria's fast pace. He had to make sure she was not on the verge of losing control. Such was the original reason for the General's title -to be the last wall keeping the storm away. The last seal on a broken spell. The lock on a worn-out door. Starseeker briefly wondered if any of his predecessors ever had had to deal with this -probably not. None of them had ever met anypony of Celestia's close circle. None of them had ever seen Staria like this.

He reached her door just as it slammed shut behind her, but he did feel the sparks of her magic even from where he stood. He winced despite himself.

Only once had he ever seen her like this, for the thousandth year anniversary of...he was hit by a pang of sadness just thinking about it. Being immortal meant everything was amplified. You loved all the more because you knew you would lose your loved one long before it was your time.

And you grieved for them until your life ended.

Grief eventually disappears because we don't have all the time in the world to mourn those we lost. We have to live on, or waste away in sadness and sorrow. But, when time wasn't an issue? There was nothing to remind you to go back to living. Nothing to remind you not to hold a grudge before it was too late.

And you remembered the ponies who had passed long after they had.

Until there was nopony to remember them with.

And just for that, Starseeker actually pitied his Queen.

XxxX

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	16. All the Tears in the World

Chapter 16

Sorry, I forgot to update before I left, and I didn't have access to my computer all week.

Poem further down is inspired by the songs _Fields of Hope_ by Rie Tanaka and _Akatsuki no Kuruma_ (Wheels of Dawn) by FictionJunction Yuuka. Listen to them, they're awesome.

Death incoming ahead. You have been warned.

Hope you'll enjoy this chapter, we're almost at the end~

XxxX

 _The first time she cracks a joke without noticing, they all stare at her like she' grown two heads, and she doesn't understand until Firefly explodes with laughter._

 _He's making fun of her, she realises, so she tickles him to death until he begs for forgiveness. She huffs and pretends to be mad at him, but it doesn't last as he raises big, puppy eyes to meet hers. She can't resist his cuteness. He laughs a second time, until he ends up coughing._

 _They play for the rest of the night, and she sends him to bed early because he can't even keep his eyes open at the end of the night._

 _He whines that he wants to stay up until the adults are done speaking but is actually asleep before she can reply._

 _Tonight, they are holding a meeting to decide their next course of actions. Some ponies are learning to sew, others to cook -but she, Staria, has knowledge to pass on. Knowledge the villagers don't know about, knowledge that was useless to them up to now. Geography, history, writing. These kinds of things. She doesn't want to let time erase everything she's learned. They could go so much further if she taught them._

 _Some of them actually know a thing or two; they haven't been isolated for that long. But it is rusty, uncertain; they could use her help._

 _So they decide they need a school. She, Staria, will teach everypony in the morning, and the foals will be able to pick an adult to teach them cooking, farming, sewing and everything in the afternoon. There will be school four days out of seven, so they will still have time to play and be foals -and so the adults can rest, too._

 _They are finally starting to look like a true village._

 _The last thing they are missing is a doctor._

 _Silver Dust, the oldest pony in their group and one of those Luna originally took, had always acted as their medic up to now, because her parents used to run a clinic. But she's old, and she was never really taught anything._

 _Staria has nothing useful to offer them in that area, so they borrow books from the village's doctor and try to learn by reading, and occasionally staying there._

 _But books can't really help when a mare's having a foal, and everything is going wrong._

 _Staria knows some things just can't be prevented. It doesn't prevent her heart from shattering in a thousand pieces again._

 _It has been about a year since a tragedy like this last struck them. Some had started to forget what it feels like to lose a loved one._

 _Nopony should know that._

 _As they burry Shimmering Sand in the ground, Staria holds a crying Firefly close to her. She holds him throughout the day as he cries for his mother and begs her to come back, and she tells him of the Guardian of Souls, the pony who guides their loved ones to a happier place, where they live on happily, awaiting the arrival of those they had to leave behind. She tells him of a land which never knows winter, where the sun shines gently on the earth, its light warm and cool like the kiss of a stream. She tells him of the great trees, the ripe fruits and the beautiful fields of flower, which stretches on and on, far beyond what the eyes can see. She speaks of colours, of the gentle song of the birds when the sun rises, of the cicadas playing in the grass. She speaks of beautiful creatures with wings or fish tails, of fire-breathing dragons, and bears taller than mountains. She speaks to forget the pain they both feel, until she can't see anymore as the tears blind her._

 _They fall quietly on Firefly's cheeks, who looks pale and exhausted._

 _She can only hope time will help them all._

 _She knows how sorrow feels, now._

 _Not that she ever really needed to remember._

XxxX

Twilight was shaken awake in the middle of the night -day- by Gleaming Stream. She struggled to wake, and finally managed to sit up in her bed.

"What-"

"Sshh."

Gleam carefully glanced at the rest of her friends, checking their breathing. Once she determined they weren't going to wake, she turned back to Twilight.

"You intend to leave in the morning, correct?" Twilight blinked in confusion.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then follow me."

She wasn't given time to answer as Gleam's gentle footsteps faded away, towards the door. Twilight hurried after her, deciding against waking her friends. The bat pony didn't seem to want to share with them whatever she intended to show her. Pointless, since she'd tell them after anyway -but she figured she'd respect her wishes. For now.

"Where are we going?" She asked, as soon as they were out of the small cave. Gleam barely glanced at her.

"I'm going to show you the whole picture. You have nothing but small pieces of it, and the conclusions you've reached couldn't be further from the truth."

Ouch, that hurt. But Twilight could understand Gleam's patronizing tone. After all, she'd just questioned and nearly insulted their Queen earlier in the day. It figures they wouldn't have taken too kindly to it. She didn't ask any more questions, and she allowed Gleaming Stream to lead her further in the cave -until she noticed exactly where they were going. But she didn't dare open her mouth.

Soon enough, they were back in front of the heavy, double doors which marked the end of Memory Lane -or perhaps it was the beginning. Gleam gently put her hoof on the door, and it noiselessly opened for her. Twilight stared at her in amazement, and Gleam smiled at her.

"Our Queen does not forbid anypony from entering here. It is protected to prevent destruction, not intrusion."

Twilight felt extremely silly for not having noticed it. It should have been obvious for a scholar such as her.

But the words died on her lips as she took in the room they had entered. There was no mistake.

It was a shrine.

In front of her on the wall, surrounded by flowers and candles, there was a portrait.

The portrait of a foal.

He was looking at her, smiling wildly while cradling a small rabbit in his hooves. The yellow and black strands of his mane fell in his eyes, not hiding their shining chocolate colour. His coat was a light brown, though darker than Starseeker's, and Twilight wondered who he was. His colourings stood out when compared to the bat ponies' brighter colours. But then again, he was not bat pony.

Below the portrait, words were engraved in its golden frame. Words that broke her heart.

 _In lonely fields of rustling grass_

 _I see you sleep, peaceful and safe_

 _I remember a song of Light and Hope_

 _And I sing along this gentle breeze_

 _The fighters rise in a sorrowful march_

 _Hushed words of wisdom carried by the wind_

 _And I wonder alone if I'll see you again_

 _After the battle ends_

 _I will not cry on this lonely field_

 _I'll wait for the morning that follows the night_

 _So near, yet so far, I'll find where you are_

 _And I promise we'll make it through_

 _With Songs of Light_

 _I watched it all with my broken soul_

 _This dying smile of a friend long gone_

 _Yet I still hold onto this whisper of hope_

 _That Dawn will rise on these shattered hearts_

 _We broke apart, but we're not lost_

 _I'll wait for you 'til the end of Time_

 _Blood on my hooves and wonder in my eyes_

 _I am still there, I will not die_

 _I will not cry on this lonely field_

 _I'll wait for the Light in my lonely path_

 _So strong yet so small, we'll overcome it all_

 _Such is the promise I made to you_

 _Through sorrow, and through pain, I will see you again_

 _Such is the promise I hold onto_

 _With Songs of Light…_

 _For Firefly._

XxxX

He opened the door with all the care in the world. He had a strong feeling of déjà vu, and he wondered about it until he remembered it was the third time he'd actually walked into her office in the past two days. All with the same goal in mind: confronting her about her last argument with Celestia's pupil, and trying to make her see the truth for what it was.

Except, he never dared going to the heart of the subject. Deep down, he knew what it was all about. He wasn't there, but he knew his History all too well. He couldn't allow it to go on for any longer.

"Not now, Starseeker. I might tear you apart in this state."

He took his time to look at her, the way he looked at a map before going to war. But this time, he had to throw caution to the wind if he actually wanted to go somewhere.

"How about you start by admitting exactly why you are so mad?" Staria straightened.

"She tried to blow a part of the cave apart. She breached a place she was clearly not allowed to go in, questioned my decisions, and acted like she was better than anypony else. Is that not enough to be angry?"

"Angry, yes. Furious enough to risk transforming, no."

She slammed her hoof down, not facing him. She always did that when she didn't want to speak, and he felt like he actually hadn't seen her face in a week. Perhaps it was true.

"I am perfectly in control, if this is what you're worried about." He shook his head.

"I know you are," he said, risking to enter further in the room. "I know what the first transformation cost you. I know it won't happen again as long as you still draw breath."

"Then what do you wish me to say, General?" She asked, her light tone not fooling him in the slightest. Underneath the seemingly innocent question, he could hear, _Don't you dare, Starseeker. Don't you dare mention him._

But he was the General. Such was his role.

And it was about time he _bloody_ started doing it correctly.

"I want you to admit it is all about Fir-"

He expected the snarl. But not the sheer pain that accompanied it.

"Don't you dare," she whispered in a broken voice, lowering her head, "speaking of Firefly."

"He stands at the middle of it all, whether you like it or not," he said, and his heart went out to her. "She reminds you of Firefly. Curious, stubborn, and worshipping the alicorn who changed her life. And, at the same time, she reminds you of yourself, back then: blind and clueless to what is really happening behind the closed doors of her shiny bubble."

Staria let out a mirthless chuckle.

"I was not blind, Starseeker. I was powerless. There's a difference."

"But you're allowing the past to blind you today," he continued, knowing he was getting through to her. "I do not know what hides in the deepest recesses of your heart, only you do. But I can guess, and I don't think I'm that far from the truth."

Staria did not reply. He knew she wouldn't, as she always did.

"I thought we needed to get rid of them, before it got too far," he said. "But it is too late for that. And perhaps...perhaps they're what you need, right now. To make peace with your past."

"You have a choice to make. Either you let them leave tomorrow -and wait another thousand year or so, wallowing in your sorrow and regrets. Or you can tell Twilight the whole truth -and see what she has to say on the matter. The choice is yours, your Highness."

He knew she wouldn't reply. He only hoped he'd gotten through to her, and while she'd named him as her General so long ago because of his perceptiveness, among other things, he was still extremely surprised when she offered him words of her own.

"Have you ever noticed how you understand the past sometimes even better than me -when you've never experienced it like I have?" He blinked in confusion.

"Your Highness?" She shook her head.

"You're an old soul, General," she paused, and there it was again -that far-away look in her eyes, which indicated she was thinking about the past. It quickly disappeared and she turned to face him. "But it does not matter. You should go," she gestured at the door, and he noticed her aura had significantly calmed down. "Raven Wings is probably waiting for you."

His features softened at the mention of his wife. How many times had she gently chided him for staying up so late? He should join her. There was nothing more to do for tonight.

"…Goodnight, my Queen." He said quietly, and the door closed behind him.

Staria stared at the door long after he'd left, mind lost in another time and if she closed her eyes, she could almost see him.

The little foal who changed her life for the better. Who taught her to live again.

But the yellow and black strands disappeared from view, not that they ever were here in the first place. She knows all too well they've gone from this world an eternity ago, though it sometimes feels like it was yesterday she lost him.

Even if he walks beside her everyday.

Staria closed her eyes as a silver tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Goodnight...little light..."

XxxX

 _It is spring when she realises something is off._

" _Will you play tag with us, Firefly?"_

" _Sorry. Maybe later, I need to finish this for class."_

" _Okay. Join us when you're done."_

 _She knows something is off, because Firefly always finishes his homework early -and because she barely gives them anything to do in their spare time._

 _What could he possibly be hiding?_

" _I don't understand this."_

" _I explained it yesterday. Which part don't you understand?"_

"… _everything."_

" _Everything? Why didn't you say it in class?"_

" _I…didn't really pay attention. I was tired, so…" He looks sheepish. It's been months, and he's tried very hard to move on -but he's just a foal. She doesn't expect him to fall back on his hooves in a matter of months._

" _We'll go over everything again, then. How does it sound?"_

 _He nods, and she tries to convince herself he is just mourning. He is pale, he has dark circles under his eyes, and he coughs quite a handful of times. As his attention decline, she gently sends him to bed and promise she will explain again tomorrow._

 _It becomes a habit._

 _Where before, they'd spend the last hours of the night looking up at the sky and talking about anything and everything, now she just reexplains whatever he was supposed to have learned in class earlier. He falls asleep halfway through the lecture, and she pretends she doesn't notice. She doesn't want to hear his promises of staying awake next time._

 _Not when they both know he can't keep them._

 _Everypony wants to believe he's still mourning -which he is. They all want to believe the dark circles under his eyes are because he thinks of his mother all the time. The cough is because he caught a cold. The paleness of his coat is because he doesn't sleep enough. His eyes are unfocused because his mind is elsewhere._

 _They don't want to imagine it could be something else. Staria doesn't want to, either._

 _But she can't remember the last time she's seen him strong enough to run around with his friends._

 _And the red streaks on his pillow make it impossible to ignore._

 _Staria knows the feeling of her stomach plummeting straight to her hooves is fear._

XxxX

Don't forget to review -even if it's just to yell at me~


	17. The Guardian of Souls

The Lost Path 17

Hello again,

Twilight and Staria finally have a heart-to-heart of sorts.

And we get a closer look in Staria's role and past regarding Firefly.

Be warned, he gets worse.

Hope you enjoy and forgive me~

XxxX

 _Silver Dust comes out of the cave Firefly's sleeping in, eyes downcast. The ponies who were waiting outside don't need to ask her to know. They have but one question now, one she does not have the answer to._

 _But she knows where to find it._

 _Staria is perched on her balcony of stone, as usual. It feels like she hasn't left it in a whole week._

 _She actually hasn't, as Silver Dust reminds her. She doesn't really care._

" _Firefly is sick, Staria. But you know this, already. The only thing I need to know is…is it curable?" She already knows the answer, even though she isn't a doctor. There are things the wisdom of Time allows us to know, without having been taught to. But she wants to hope, still. Because it's all she has left._

 _Staria doesn't answer straight away. She's been trying, this whole week…trying to come to terms with what she knows. But she can't._

 _She doesn't want to accept it. None of them do._

 _Silver Dust doesn't blame her._

" _I have lived for so, so long…"_

 _Memories swim around in her head. Memories she never thought would matter one day. Memories she'd almost forgotten. She raises her head to look at the sky._

" _I have seen so many things…I've been to war. I've seen countries and empires crumble under the weight of their citizens' wrath…"_

 _She can remember flames, and broken cries. How many times had they echoed in her head as she tried to find sleep?_

" _I went to the darkest parts of the world. I've heard the Shadows howl and the Light cry…"_

 _One memory, clear as day to her. Followed by countless others._

" _I have seen so many things…things you couldn't imagine…"_

 _Swirls of colours. Structures taller than a castle crumbling to dust. The very fabric of Reality being torn apart._

" _Things no one would believe…"_

 _She closes her eyes._

" _But I have never seen anypony heal from this sickness."_

 _Silver Dust leaves quietly. She knows she needs to be alone._

 _Despair does not like company._

XxxX

Twilight can't breathe.

The poem beneath the portrait spoke of a great sadness and grief, one that could have lasted for centuries. And perhaps it was actually the case.

Gleaming Stream drew herself to her height, eyes fixed on the painting. She began the story very quietly, with a reverence Twilight knew she wouldn't understand until the very end of the story.

"Only few of us know the whole truth, about this shrine. Though our Queen doesn't hide anything from us...this place causes her great sadness. We try to avoid asking her about it for this very reason." She paused, and Twilight did not say anything. Somehow, she knew the moment was too solemn, too important to interrupt. The young mare waited for the other to find her voice again. And when she finally did, she listened almost reverently.

"When our Queen came here the first time, she was...broken. Empty. As though she was nothing but a living shell, void of any feeling, soul, and emotion. Firefly was the one to draw her out of that shell, and back into who she used to be, before...before that night. She still mourns his death, even today. Most of us don't believe she'll ever stop grieving for him."

She spoke more, for hours perhaps. She spoke of their lives before Staria came. She spoke of starvation, of despair, of poor living conditions. She spoke of the changes Staria brought with her. And though Twilight had already heard about it all, now she sees it in a new light.

She finally sees it through the bat ponies' eyes.

And she finally understands why Staria refused to come back.

"Have you ever lost the one who made your life shine again? The one who was your sun? Can you imagine the pain and despair it would cause you, and being alone to handle it?"

Alone. At one time, Twilight had been alone -but she had chosen it. She had not suffered from it, because she had foolishly preferred her books' company over the other ponies'. But now that she knew what friendship truly was, the happiness and sheer joy it brought her everyday...How would she live, if it was suddenly ripped away from her? If suddenly she were to lose her whole family, friends, and everypony she had ever known and loved? How would she handle such loneliness?

She wouldn't. She'd despair and wither away until she was nothing but a shell of herself.

Just like Staria.

And if the pony who had made her look at life again was to disappear again...

Could she stand back up one more time, and carry on with her life?

Would she have the strength to?

She already knows the answer.

And she guesses that, somewhere in Staria's mind, Celestia became the one responsible for everything she had ever lost. Unfair, maybe, but she couldn't blame her. Not after everything she had endured.

"What I'm telling you here is but a fraction of the truth," Gleam went on, lost in her own thoughts. "If you want the rest, I suggest you apologize to our Queen and ask her to tell you. You came here believing you could help her," and the mare turned sideways to stare at her, this time. Twilight felt like a deer in headlights. "But perhaps it is she who can help you. Help you see the world beyond the keyhole you're standing behind. Help you see the whole picture, and uncover the truths you know but can't accept."

She did not know what to reply, and Gleaming Stream did not expect an answer. It was cruel, really; Twilight had already failed, and only now was she being given the keys that would have helped her succeed. If she'd understood the whole situation from the start, then perhaps it wouldn't have ended this way. Instead of accusing the older alicorn and seeing her as a threat, she'd have tried not to take her back to Canterlot -but perhaps to convince her to at least go and see her sisters. But it was all ruined, now.

And yet, she couldn't help but notice that, one more time, the bat pony had not breached the subject of their transformation. Except for saying Firefly was the direct cause of it, but she didn't say how.

Nor did she say why he was painted as a foal instead of a stallion. She fears she already knows the answer.

There were hoofsteps behind her, but she didn't turn around. She knew who it was -and she also knew their talk wouldn't end the same way as a few hours earlier. Twilight knew not to judge, now. She was a thousand years too young to judge.

"Thank you, Gleaming Stream." Staria's voice was softer, gentler. It reminded her of Luna's soothing tone. "I will take it from here."

The younger mare bowed and left. Twilight turned her head, and Staria quietly came into the room, her steps a slow, almost inaudible rhythm in the peaceful shrine. She came to stand beside her, and her eyes met the portrait in front of her with undisguised longing and grief. Her sorrow was almost tangible, and Twilight wondered once more if she'd ever be able to overcome such an everlasting pain. She couldn't even imagine what it must have been to bear this incredible weight alone.

The silence stretched on between them, a strange, distorted reflection of what had happened mere hours ago -but they both preferred it this way. This place felt too sacred for such petty conflicts.

"I'm sorry," Twilight eventually said, reluctant to break the silence. "You were right. I had no right to judge when I didn't know."

Staria did not answer for a while; the young alicorn almost wondered if she had actually heard her. But Staria heaved a sigh.

"You are too blind, Twilight." Her voice felt tired, regretful. It reminded her of the few times she'd actually messed up -and Celestia had had to reprimand her. The tone of a teacher who blamed herself for her student's failures.

"You make your opinions based on facts and ideas you deem undeniable, unbreakable. But if these facts prove to be wrong, then your whole judgement is faulted." Twilight tilted her head in confusion.

"Then...which of my 'ideas' is actually faulted?"

"The fact that you believe my sister to be uncapable of being in the wrong, even though she told you herself she was." Twilight started.

"I don't-"

"Do you deny it?" There was no accusation in Staria's tone, only a wisdom and knowledge which reminded her of Celestia. But, at the same time...she felt as though the being in front of her had lived much longer than her beloved teacher. She noticed that Staria looked...older than Celestia, by maybe a decade.

But wasn't Celestia the oldest? She didn't understand. Staria took her silence as a no.

"I believe Celestia took the blame for what happened all those centuries ago. But, somehow...you started thinking it was Luna and I's fault -and it is not completely wrong. Believing Celestia had no part in it, however, is the greatest hypocrisy of the century."

Twilight reddened under the words. Maybe, she had a slight hero-worship problem where Celestia was concerned. Maybe.

If it was that obvious, had her friends noticed it too? She'd never hear the end of it.

"Though, to be fair...It seems I was a hypocrite, too."

She did not expect that. The question is obvious in her eyes, and Staria half smiled.

"We may be the most powerful beings in Equestria and we may rule over forces our ponies don't understand...but at the end of the day, we're just ponies, like them. Trying to deal with personal issues of our own, and we struggle against our own demons. We're not so different. And," she added regretfully, "I have blamed you for something that is entirely my fault, and my responsibility alone."

She stepped to the right, towards an opening Twilight had not noticed until now. But the wind she could feel coming from there could only mean it led to the exterior of the cave. Perhaps a balcony. Staria glanced back at her.

"Come. There are many things I believe you should know, but the sun is about to set. I have to raise the Stars -and perhaps it would benefit you to watch."

Twilight hurried after her, in the narrow passageway. It was not long until they reached the outside, and she noticed she was right -it was a balcony, or rather a rocky platform overlooking San Palomino desert. Outside, she could barely see a thing as the sun's light slowly vanished from below the horizon, until night had fallen once again. For a heartbeat, all was still as Life slowly transitioned between day and night -and she could almost hear the bat ponies awaking, back in the cave. But then, the Moon made her appearance.

The white orb rose in the sky, surrounded by Luna's pale blue magic, until it had settled in its rightful place. The sudden hum of magic made Twilight turn to the alicorn by her side.

Eyes closed, Staria started humming as her horn lit up.

The gentle song lulled her to a peacefulness she had never felt before. As though her soul was suddenly put at rest.

And when the thought hit her, everything became obvious. She knew just who she was looking at.

The Guardian of Souls.

XxxX

 _Every day becomes priceless. Class is suspended as Staria spends as much time as she can with Firefly -she will never replace Shimmering Sand and she doesn't want to, but somewhere along the way…she'd started to consider Firefly as hers. Hers to care about, hers to watch over, hers to protect._

 _She will not let go. Not this time._

 _She failed once to protect those she loved, but she won't fail again._

 _She starts to search for a cure. She wonders if, maybe, in the years she's been gone, a cure has been found._

 _She tries everything she reads about, with little success. Still she does not give up._

 _She turns the village's library upside down in a vain effort to find something. But the doctor crushes her hopes as he tells her there is no cure._

 _They keep trying, however. The doctor settles in the cavern with them so he can watch over his young patient._

 _Too young, he thinks. Way too young._

 _Night after night, he wipes the sweat off his brow and the blood off his lips. Firefly can't even rise anymore, as his legs are growing weaker and weaker with each passing day. She can't do a thing, and it's killing her._

 _She's back in time, as she watches Luna fall deeper and deeper in darkness, and she can't do a thing to prevent it._

 _She's failing again. She doesn't protect the ones she loves. She does not have the strength to._

 _Did all those years mean nothing? Hadn't she learned anything in her years of wandering Equestria? Of staying here?_

 _No._

 _She hasn't learned anything._

 _Staria tears her room apart in a fit of anger._

XxxX

Review~


	18. Heart to Heart

The Lost Path 18

Soooo…I haven't heard anything from anyone since two weeks ago, I am concluding you all hate me now.

Not that I can blame you, really.

Here is the last part of the explanation, the end of Staria and Twilight's conversation, as well as something else that was never mentioned until then and that I freely interpreted from the show.

Next chapter is going to be short and tragic. You can all guess what's going to happen, but I promise it will be the last time.

Only two chapters left, I hope you still enjoy reading them.

EDIT: OMG, I sound so whiny up there, sorry about that. I was just freaking out because usually there is at least one person who says something, good or bad, and then suddenly there was nothing so I was like _'OMGtheydidn'tlikethechaptersthey'regoingtostopreadingI'mabadwriterIneedtodosomethingbutIdon'tknowwhatthehelliswrong'_

Sooo...yeah. Thanks for reviewing guys, I don't say it enough but you're awesome :)

XxxX

" _You're not…yourself." Staria attempts to smile in reassurance. His blank look tells her he isn't fooled in the slightest._

" _Can't say I've been sleeping well, lately." She manages, despite her exhaustion. She looks as bad as he does; heavy bags under her eyes, paleness, exhaustion. The doctor wisely does not say anything; her temper is terrible, lately. Besides, he knows she won't do as he says._

 _Firefly frowns and starts coughing immediately afterwards. She is there in under a second, ready to help him with anything -and heart shattering a bit more as she knows she can't do anything._

 _Only soothe his pain by her presence._

 _She knows it helps him, and as much as she wants to deny it, she knows it is not just because they care about each other. She knows it is more than that. She also knows it is the answer to her question, to her duty, the true meaning of her existence._

 _She so desperately sought it for years, and now that it's just within her reach, she doesn't want to know. Hell, she'd gladly never know if only she could bring Firefly to health again._

 _But it is not to be._

" _Don't waste away like I am…" His voice is quiet, frail. As though it is going to break, like glass -and it probably is._

 _She refuses to dwell on it._

" _You'll be fine," she whispers. "you'll heal, don't worry. I'll make sure you do." He barks out a laugh, and the harsh sound does not belong in a foal's mouth._

 _Perhaps in an old stallion's, tired by life and weakened by time._

 _It does not belong with somepony as young and innocent as he is._

" _Don't make promises you can't keep." He whispers, quickly tiring. "You never know what tomorrow will bring…"_

 _He falls asleep before she can reply, and she doesn't leave his side, because she doesn't want to miss his next awakening. She's cried all the tears she had. She's screamed until her voice was raw and broken. She's hit the wall until her hooves bled, and then she kept hitting it again and again with what little strength she still had, until she fell against it, because she has nothing left. Time is running out quicker than she's ready to accept._

 _Helplessness is a feeling she knows all too well._

XxxX

Twilight didn't know how long she'd stood there, listening to Staria's song and watching the Stars take their rightful place by the Moon's side. And now that she knew the truth, she could see them, if she focused hard enough: transparent forms of stallions and mares, of all ages and origins. The souls of the recently departed.

They dance together in the night, knowing they will rest soon, guided by their Queen. They know they will find the peace they sought all their lives, now, in the peaceful heaven she will guide them to. This night is theirs.

She remains silent for a long time after Staria's song has come to an end, long after the Stars are all alight. And while silence is a luxury so seldom enjoyed, the two mares both know they have to break it.

Words can't exist in silence.

"My sisters and I share duties other than bringing the day and the night -than marking the passage of days. Celestia...is the Guardian of Life."

It makes sense, Twilight thought. Celestia watched over the living, ensuring they could live their lives in peace and happiness before their time came.

"Luna, for her part...is the Guardian of Death. I am unsure whether she knows it, however. The dreams she guards and appease are often those of the departed, those who left something behind them...something they can't yet let go of. She wards off their nightmares so they can rest."

"As for me...I watch over the dying. I ensure they find their way to the afterlife." Twilight looked up at her.

"So at the moment of our deaths..." Staria gazed at her solemnly.

"Yes, Twilight. If the death is quick, the soul is compelled to find me. But if it takes too long..." she paused, looking at the souls above, "Then I come to the dying and I appease their minds and hearts before it is their time. Nopony should suffer at the moment of our deaths."

Twilight took the time to mull over this new information. She had asked herself about death before, of course. But as a scholar, she had had trouble believing in heaven, and neither Luna nor Celestia had helped her reflexion. But, now...

"Then death is not the end." She asked. Staria nodded.

"There are many paths a soul can take. It can choose to rest, in heaven. It can choose to watch over their loved ones, until it is their time. Or..." Staria paused again, and this time, Twilight could tell she was struggling to say the next few words. A part of her understood why, but she did not say it out loud. It was not the right time.

"Or they can decide to be reborn...if there was something they had wanted to do before dying...but were unable to."

Twilight did not ask further. She knew who she was talking about. But a story had to be told from the beginning.

"Can you tell me?" She asked, with a reluctance she has so seldom felt. "Tell me the whole story...from your side?"

The older alicorn took the longest time to answer. But she eventually did.

She hadn't led Twilight here to tell her nothing. And it was about time she got it off her chest.

For too long she had stayed bitter and resentful.

"As the guide, the one who ensured the smooth transition between day and night...it was my duty to ensure our rule went on smoothly as well. But I failed.

I failed to take action when I noticed the darkness rising on both sides. I allowed my doubts and respect for my sisters to cloud my judgement, until I could no longer act at all. I should have been there to prevent this. But I wasn't.

Celestia was clouded by power and fame, by glory and worship. She wanted it all for herself, in the beginning. But she fooled herself into believing it was to protect us from the crown's burden. As for Luna...she did not speak. She did not trust us to deal with the problem back when it was a small issue. She allowed it to grow and take a hold of her very core, twisting it into something unrecognisable and uncaring. She locked herself in her resentment until it brought out the darkest part of her, the one we all have in our hearts."

"You mean Nightmare Moon? I don't think we all have a dark alter-ego buried in our souls..."

"And yet. You've heard of Daybreaker, haven't you?"

Twilight looked at her sharply. How did she even know that? Staria chuckled.

"I have my ways. But, to answer your question, yes, we all do. These alter-ego are the incarnation of everything we've ever buried inside of us, hidden desires and wishes we could never allow to come to light. The difference is that it is much more likely to come into the light when it comes to alicorns, because of the sheer power we hold."

"Wait, you mean I might one day be confronted...to a dark version of myself? Of Cadence?"

"Fret not, Twilight. It will only happen if you allow it to, if you fall in darkness. And you both have friends and family to prevent this from happening."

The younger alicorn couldn't help but note that Luna had had both -but it hadn't been enough. She only hoped she'd never have to fight such an evil being. She couldn't even imagine...but then, a thought struck her.

"What about you? Do you have...an alter-ego?"

She had not thought before asking. Perhaps it was too direct, too personal? Staria's eyes darkened with pain and regret. She looked away from her, and whispered a single word to the night, one that Twilight barely caught. And when she did, it made her shiver with unknown terror.

"Starfury."

The name hung in the air around them, and Twilight almost expected her to appear in front of them. It felt real, as though it was just hiding beneath the surface, ready to overcome the barrier keeping her at bay. But the moment passed rather quickly, and the ominous name vanished without a trace.

"She is the reason for the bat ponies' transformation." Staria seemed lost in thought, back in a time long before the other alicorn was even born. And from what she had gathered so far, it indeed was a long, long time ago.

"Gleam told you most of the story, except this part. It all starts with Firefly.

He was...just a foal, but he was different. Curious. Smart. And incredibly wise, for his age. He stayed by my side all the time, and I managed to beat my depression thanks to his presence. He drew me out of my shell, without even noticing. He was a small bundle of joy that nothing could seem to stop, ever. He was everything."

"I had grown attached to him. He was...not a son, but a little brother. One I had sworn to protect from all harm. I worked hard to help them partly because of him, because I wanted him to live a long and happy life. But there are things we just can't prevent."

Her voice trailed off to a whisper, and Twilight almost caught a glimpse of a shimmering drop down the older alicorn's cheek. But it was gone quicker than she could see.

"He fell sick one day, perhaps a year after I had started living with them. A sickness that could not be cured." Staria glanced at Twilight with far away eyes. "I believe you can guess the rest.

Starfury came out because I had enough. Enough to be forced to endure, to be powerless against the world around me. I had lost the one I loved most...I absolutely refused to lose anypony else. And as my ponies were not physically fit to live in the desert...She made them fit."

"So Starfury is the reason for the bat ponies' existence..." Twilight mused. She had been really unfair, after all. It wasn't Staria's fault. It wasn't a conscious decision. "How did she disappear, then?"

"Thanks to the oldest of the bat ponies, Silver Dust. You've seen her portrait in Memory Lane."

"Starfury did not just transform the bat ponies," she explained further, her tone no lighter than before. "She transformed the whole cave, until it was suitable to live in. And once she was done...the loss was too much to bear. No matter how much power she spared to protect his family...Firefly would never come back."

"Hold on," Twilight interrupted, frowning. "You mentioned evil alter-ego. Granted she did not ask the bat ponies' opinion before transforming them, but you said she wanted to protect them? How does that make her evil?" Staria shook her head.

"I said dark, not evil. This part of us is what we can't accept about ourselves. Desire for recognition, for power, for control...depending on what we hide, our other selves can be plain evil -like Daybreaker- or just...stubborn and uncaring. Luna longed for recognition, so Nightmare Moon tried to overthrow Celestia. Celestia has tremendous power, and she longs for the freedom to use it as she pleases, without fearing the consequences. But she is too caring and selfless to allow this. So Daybreaker seeks destruction and does not care about anything else.

As for me, I craved control. I wanted not to be bound to obey the Fates. And Starfury was the pony in control." Staria paused to catch her breath. She eventually shook herself before continuing.

"It took me years to face the guilt of what I'd done. I broke the rules, as you said. I had no right to do it, but I did. In the end it was a positive change, but it does not erase the circumstances in which it happened. Over the years, though I had decided to leave the past behind me...I started to resent Celestia for being in this situation, for the pain I felt, for everything. And while I know she has changed...I've held on for centuries. I can't let it go in a matter of days."

"While I am grateful for the message you carry, Twilight...I am not quite ready to face my sisters again."

The two fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Over the next few days, as she went back home, Twilight would muse long and hard about what she had learned. About the way she acted and judged, too; she still had a long way to go before she could ever hope to be as wise as the three sisters, who had lived on for centuries. But she knew, with each new lesson she learned, that she would take one step closer to it. It was only a matter of time and hardships.

Because, as her beloved mentor had once said, ' _I am strong because I've been weak. I am fearless because I've been afraid. And I am wise because I've been foolish'_.

Twilight retreated to the cave quietly, deciding against shaking Staria out of her thoughts, and she was right to do so.

The older alicorn kept her eyes trained on one peculiar star, one who shone brighter than the others. She remembered it all too well.

Staria closed her eyes.

It was time to let go.

She had grieved long enough.


	19. The Most painful Goodbye

The Lost Path 19

Here we go.

This chapter is special, for Staria and for me.

Don't read if you're emotionally fragile/sensitive or anything.

Hope you enjoy it anyway.

XxxX

 _She knows._

 _Before she even opens her eyes, she knows._

 _The ragged breathing next to her will not last much longer._

 _Firefly will not see the sun rise._

 _A look from the doctor is all she needs to confirm it._

 _And when Firefly quietly asks to be moved to her balcony, they know he knows it, too._

 _It would have been impossible to hide._

 _They watch the night together. They speak in hushed tones of its quiet beauty, the soft light which colours the world differently. Like another universe…_

 _She tells him about poetry, she paints him a different view of what he's never seen -she talks until she acknowledges that she's stalling. But Time waits for nopony._

 _Silence stretches between them. She knows he has one last thing to do, but she will not rush him._

 _Time, which takes our lives, sometimes allows us to choose our deaths._

 _And what to do with what little time we can still call our own._

" _I guess…I can tell you, now…"_

 _She doesn't speak. She only needs to listen._

" _My dream…since it will never come true…"_

 _Her heart breaks again. She doesn't know how many times she's glued it back together. But she knows what she must do._

" _Long ago, I promised you I'd do anything to make it happen, Firefly…" A year, she realises. They're nearing summer. Two years ago, Shimmering Sand and Firefly had found her, an empty shell, nearly drowning, and brought her back here. Two long years._

 _Not enough time._

" _Yeah…I know…" he trails off. He is bracing himself, telling her something he probably never told anypony else._

 _She cannot still her racing heart. Anything he asks of her, she will do it._

 _Regardless of the cost._

" _The others kept saying I dreamed it…but I know they were real…I know I saw them, back when I was little…not even out of my crib…during the night, next to the Moon…"_

 _Staria chokes on her breath. Somehow, she knows. She just knows what he's going to say next._

" _Lights…small lights…they lit up the whole sky, a long time ago…"_

 _A sob is building up in her chest. It feels like a dragon is tearing her heart out of her chest with his bare claws._

"… _but they disappeared…and they never came back…I always hoped they would, one day…so I waited…and…waited…but they never came back…"_

 _He's not looking at her. She swallows her sob. At least she can grant him his wish…_

" _Those lights…what were they…?"_

 _She closes her eyes._

" _They're called 'the Stars', Firefly."_

 _Her voice is quiet. Almost inaudible._

"… _Stars…" he whispers. "…Like Staria…" A weak light shines in his eyes. "…Are you…?"_

 _She opens her eyes, blinking back her tears. She has to be strong._

 _One last time._

" _Yes, Firefly. Tonight…I'll raise them for you."_

 _She does not even wonder if she can. Her wings are sealed, she's not an alicorn anymore. She's not the princess of the Stars anymore. She no longer has the power to raise them._

 _But she does not pause to think. She doesn't even consider the possibility of not succeeding._

 _She just does it._

 _The Stars are a part of her. They're in her magic, in her blood, in her soul._

 _She knows them like she knows herself._

 _She knows._

 _Nothing will ever change it._

 _Midnight blue wings slowly unfurl from her back as though they had never disappeared. The magic brings forth a familiar feeling; warmth, and comfort. The feeling of home._

 _Firefly watches in amazement as, one by one, the lights of his dream rise above the horizon, bathing the nocturnal life of their soft glow. They twinkle in the sky and he can almost hear them sing._

" _...They're even…prettier…than I remember…"_

 _A tear falls down his cheek. On his flank, there is a small flash, and five twinkling stars shine on his coat. His eyes leave the stars and fall upon hers. She faces him now, eyes shining with unshed tears. There are a thousand things she wants to say. A thousand words that will never cross her lips._

 _I'm so sorry._

 _I should have never stopped raising the stars. You wouldn't have suffered so much if I had._

 _I wish I had known sooner._

 _I should have told you the truth. I should have told you who I really was._

 _I never got to tell you how I ended up here._

 _I never got to thank you._

 _I should have-_

 _He smiles. Her thoughts come to a halt._

"… _I always knew…you were the one…"_

 _His eyelids drop. A scream builds up in her throat and dies on her lips._

" _Thank you. For everything."_

 _A soul departs and another breaks._

 _The cavern trembles under the weight of Starfury's anguish._

 _XxxX_

 _Pour Théotime._

 _Les adieux les plus douloureux sont ceux qui ne sont jamais ni prononcés, ni expliqués._


	20. The End of a Chapter

The Lost Path 20

Hello for the last time guys~

At long last, the last chapter. I want to thnak you all for reading, favoriting and reviewing this. It is actually the first time something I write gets so much positive feedback, and i am grateful for that.

There will be no sequel after this, mostly because I wouldn't know what more to say, but I might write short glimpses of things I haven't shown you, either from the past or the future. I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, thanks again. The sisters finally reunite after a thousand years. Feel free to ask if anything is unclear to you.

Without further delay…enjoy the last chapter~

XxxX

"… _Staria…?"_

 _The power is gone as quickly as it has come. But it is not without consequences._

"… _Come on…we need you…"_

 _The alicorn faces away from her, ashamed of herself and burdened by a pain she knows she might never get over. But the pony behind her deserves an answer._

" _How can you even…bear to see me…? After what I did…to you all…"_

 _Silver Dust takes a moment to unfurl her new wings. It's been weeks already, but she still has trouble accepting what she now is, along with everypony else._

 _Bat ponies._

 _Their eyes are sharper, stronger. They can see in the dark, now, and their hearing has strengthened as well. Wings have grown on their backs. Strong, leather wings, with jagged edges. Many foals are already trying them in the cavern, under the worried eyes of their parents. Because Staria is the only one who knows how to fly. None of them were Pegasus before. She is also the strongest of them and the only one who can explain the transformation that befell them -and her._

 _Staria is now a bat alicorn, and the Queen of the bat ponies._

 _Even though she refuses to acknowledge it._

" _You said it, when you were your other half…" Silver Dust tries to soothe her, her gentle voice reaching her from the outside of her balcony, where Staria is laying, watching the newest star in the midnight sky. "We were unfit to live here. Unfit to survive. You made us strong."_

" _Against your will." Her voice is flat, dead. She had no control over her actions, but still she blames herself. She doesn't care that she's transformed herself, too._

" _Many blessings come to us unasked," Silver Dust whispers, stepping into the light. "And half of them we don't even realise what they are. Why feel guilty for something we all agree to be a good thing?" Staria doesn't look at her. But she has listened._

" _Because it was wrong. It's against the rules, against the very order of Nature. As alicorns…we must respect the limits of the power we have or it might consume us…like mine did." Silver Dust snorts. The sound is so foreign that Staria actually looks at her._

" _Who cares about rules, youngling?" The old mare reaches around and bonks her on the head. Staria blinks in surprise. "Had Luna followed the rules, we wouldn't be there. Had Celestia followed the rules, you wouldn't be there. And had you followed the rules, most of us would be dead already. Would you go back on any of these things because it was against the rules?"_

" _No…but-"_

" _No buts. It happened because it had to be done. You were led to us, to this, because it had to happen. And you turned into her so it could happen."_

" _Are you saying…" she swallows heavily, "that Firefly died for this…?" Silver Dust looks up._

" _Maybe…maybe not. It was his time, that's all I know. It was unfair and it hurts, yes. But I do believe he told you not to waste away, am I wrong? Do you really want to let him watch you suffer, from where he now stands? He will watch over you, over us. Don't sentence him to watching you suffer for something no one considers a crime."_

 _Staria doesn't answer. Silver Dust knows she has said all she had to say. The rest lies in the alicorn's hooves._

 _She steps away from the balcony, intent on watching the little bats playing around. There are many things to do to suit their new forms. And even if she doesn't know why Staria's alter ego decided to give them wings…it doesn't matter. She's gone. She'll probably never come back._

 _Firefly will make sure of it._

 _The old mare leaves the other to her thoughts. She will come through._

 _Staria will eventually look at all of this as a blessing._

XxxX

Staria gazed at the world from her balcony. If she focused hard enough, she could see the fading figures of the mane six on the horizon. She wasn't sure how much Twilight had shared with them; what she did know was, they hadn't seemed angry at her, more...unsure, and puzzled. Not that she could really blame them.

"It is not yet over...is it?"

 _Time cannot erase the pain of our lies_

 _How could I have left things this way?_

 _Who else can we blame, but our own selves?_

 _The stars shall be silent tonight_

She smiled without looking back. Her General stepped closer until he stood by her side, eyes trained on the same horizon as she is. Except they don't quite see the same thing.

"No...It is not." Her tone was solemn and tranquil, and Starseeker relaxed. She had made up her mind, he could tell. He chuckled.

"She won't expect it." It was Staria's turn to chuckle.

"I'm counting on it."

 _But into the stillness, I can hear two songs_

 _A prayer and a memory long passed_

There was mischief in her eyes, and Starseeker was taken aback for a moment before he remembered that long, very long ago, she used to be a lot more cheerful and prone to prank ponies left and right. He sighed dramatically.

"Beware Equestria, here comes the Queen of Mischief herself..." This time the alicorn laughed fully, and a small smile bloomed on his usually hard features. He had missed this, they both had. They both eventually sobered up as their duties caught up to them. Staria nodded at him.

"I leave them in your care until I return, Starseeker."

 _And I'm listening now, as my tired eyes_

 _Close and remember the past…_

He did not answer, he did not have to. With a graceful move, Staria spread her wings wide, and after waiting a heartbeat and cherishing the feeling of the wind rustling her wings, the alicorn took flight into the night. She had but one destination in mind, and though she'd never gone there in the thousand years it had existed, she knew exactly where she was going.

Two ponies are waiting for her.

They have been for far too long.

XxxX

 _Once did a pony with a star's gentle glow_

 _Look out on her kingdom and sigh_

"I'm sorry, Princess. She was...she said she was not ready."

Celestia reassured her faithful student with a few gentle words. Truthfully, she did not expect Staria to come back. Things could change in a thousand years, but this never would.

Staria had never been one to do as she was told, unless she had thought long and hard about it. This time was no different.

 _Uncertain she wondered 'is there any need for_

 _Another sister and Princess of the Night?'_

Twilight reluctantly left the castle, and Celestia noticed how she had changed. She looked...older. More mature, perhaps. As though she had come to understand something she would have never imagined before. Staria tended to have that effect on ponies, she realized.

This strange aura of wisdom, the feeling that she was older than Time itself...Celestia had always figured she knew more than she let on. Ponies might underestimate her for being the Goddess of Passages, but as such, she was privy to more secrets than both Luna and her. Something it had taken them all years to understand.

Left alone in the throne room, Celestia sighed.

"This is definitely something I did not expect from you, Sister."

 _So great was her doubt, so frail her confidence_

 _She lost sight of what mattered most_

For one heartbeat there was nothing, but then, an alicorn emerged from the shadows of the room. Her pointy ears, cat eyes and bat-like wings were hard to ignore, but Celestia did not even blink. Instead, her amber eyes stayed trained on the one she had not seen for a thousand years -one she had felt come in when Twilight started explaining how their mission went. The other alicorn glanced at the window.

"It's been a thousand years, Celestia. I've changed. We all have."

 _The proud mare became but a shadow of herself_

 _Unprepared to face what their ruling would cost_

The two sisters finally faced each other. Celestia had hoped for a joyful reunion, much like the one she had had with Luna...but Staria seemed to have different ideas, if the distance she carefully kept between them was of any indication. Celestia was painfully reminded of the fact she was not Luna. Luna and she had hurt each other; forgiveness had been easier this way because they were both to blame. But Staria...

Staria had endured it all, without saying a word. She'd suffered as much as Luna.

But she had never said anything, to the point she had chosen to leave instead of burdening her sister with more guilt. Such had been the Staria of the past, the Staria who was kind and loyal.

She wasn't so sure of it anymore.

 _Helpless as she felt, she couldn't do a thing_

 _As her sister fell in darkness_

"Why did you lie to Twilight? When you said you were not ready to come back?" Staria looked at her.

"Your student has never failed at anything, Celestia. She needed to learn…that it's alright to fail." Celestia frowned.

"You've hurt her, Sister. That's not what I call learning."

"Then you and I have different beliefs on the matter," Staria shrugged carelessly. "The most valuable lessons are only learned through pain. You and I both learned that the hard way." Celestia looked away for a moment, all too aware of what Staria was talking about. That night would be forever etched in their minds.

 _And the eldest clouded by fame and by glory_

 _Was left to bear alone the weight of the crown_

"Why are you here, then? We missed you, but it seems such is not the same for you."

"And that's where you're wrong."

Celestia was startled for a second. And then suddenly, she could see her. The sister she had lost so long ago, the one who worried about them both -acting like a surrogate mother when they needed it the most. The one she had missed and destroyed despite herself.

Perhaps she was not lost forever.

"I have spent the last centuries being angry. Angry at you, at Luna, at our ponies. Blaming you all for what had happened. But I was only fooling myself."

 _But such is the way of rulers we never get_

 _To apologize for our faults_

"I missed you, Celestia. I missed you both. But the wounds opened so long ago can't close so easily. I find it...hard, to be in your presence," Staria finally admitted, shaking her head. "I still haven't forgiven either of you...I still haven't forgiven myself." Staria met Celestia's eyes, solemn and regretful. "The memories I have of us are tainted, now. Tainted by the pain of loneliness and indifference. I know I will forgive you, eventually. But the chapter of our History where we ruled together...It's over. We've tried to make it work, and it didn't. We may forgive ourselves, but this is something I will never be willing to try again."

 _And we carry on and pretend that we're fine_

 _Even if at the end of the day nothing's right_

The words hurt, on both sides. Celestia wanted to say it was working with Luna -but the words died on her lips as she recalled their last argument, the one where Starlight Glimmer had to interfere. Their relationship was difficult at times, she couldn't deny it.

Putting Staria in the middle would only end in disaster.

"And I have a duty to my ponies now," Staria added, a soft smile blooming on her lips. "I can't abandon them, and I don't want to." Celestia swallowed painfully.

"Are you...happy, with them? Is it...the place you call home?"

 _Lullay Sun and Night, farewell sisters mine_

 _Rest now that our masks are gone_

The younger sibling waited a short time before answering. It wasn't that she wasn't certain of her answer, no; she debated whether she could hurt her sister one more time tonight. But no matter how hard she tried to think of something, she knew she couldn't avoid the truth. If only because Celestia would hear it in her lies. She would not lie.

Even if it hurt.

"Yes, it is. More than the castle ever was."

 _Bear up my song and cry, whispers of night_

 _Tell them that this crime is my own_

Celestia closed her eyes. This was what she had dreaded to hear.

Even if Staria was happy there...the idea of not seeing her for another thousand years didn't sit well with her.

"Will you ever come back?"

 _Carry the weight of my pain and my lies_

 _The bonds that I allowed to die_

"Every once in a while. I have stayed away for too long." Hope bloomed in Celestia's heart, and a smile appeared on her features.

"We will see you again," she whispered. She raised her head. "And Luna?"

 _Oh sisters I loved you much more than you knew_

"I have already spoken with her," Staria replied, stepping closer. "I'll open up my dreams again."

"This is goodbye, then," Celestia came closer too, until they stood less than a foot away from each other. "Not farewell."

 _May trouble be far from your souls_

"It never was farewell, Celestia," Staria replied. "We may have our differences, but in the end...I will always come back. Back to you both." Celestia nodded in understanding, relieved.

It was not the end.

Merely a new beginning.

 _And forgive me for being a fool._

They gently bumped their nose together in an affectionate gesture. The contact lasted for a few seconds, before Staria pulled away first. She stepped backwards towards the opened window, her wings spreading wide.

It was time.

"Goodbye, Staria."

"Goodbye...Sister."

Her dark figure disappeared into the night, and Celestia watched her until she had completely faded from her sight. Somehow, she had found herself in the same situation a thousand years ago -but it was different. This time, there was no closed door between them. There was nothing left unspoken, no anger left to pester until it was about to burst. This time, everything had been said and done.

This time, she knew. She knew the next chapter was about to begin.

And she couldn't wait to read it.

 _The memories behind us, naïve and now cracked_

 _I never imagined I'd wish I could go back_

 _May these lifeless hours swiftly pass I pray_

 _I love you I miss you_

 _All these miles away_

 _May all your dreams be sweet tonight_

 _Safe upon your thrones of soft light_

 _And know not of regret, fear or pain_

 _And in our dreams we'll fly away to meet again_

 _Sleep…_

XxxX

The End.


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